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NORTH AMERICA 

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Frontispiece, Rabenort’a United States as a Whole 








































RA BENORT’S GEOGRAPHY 


THE UNITED STATES 

AS A WHOLE 

'jp 

BY 

WILLIAM RABENORT, A.M., Ph.D. 

\ x 

PRINCIPAL OF PUBLIC SCHOOL 55 , THE BRONX 
THE CITY OF NEW YORK 



> i 

* » 



AMERICAN BOOK COMPANY 


NEW YORK. CINCINNATI CHICAGO BOSTON ATLANTA 








§\*Jo 

V\2A 


Copyright, 1914, by 
WILLIAM RABENORT 


Copyright, 1921 and 1924, BY 
AMERICAN BOOK COMPANY 


w. p. io 





WAV 16 1924 

©C1A792441 


Preface 


t 

\ 


This book describes in bold outlines the forms of life 
and nature which characterize the United States as a 
whole. 

The world is the home of man, and no part of it is more 
attractive or better repays study than the land in which 
we live. In this hook, as in the other volumes of the 
series, emphasis is laid upon typical occupations, cus¬ 
toms, pastimes, and other phases of life. The human 
relations of such physiographic and biogeographic features as 
surface, streams, climate, plants and animals are, also, 
treated fully enough. 

The facts and inferences of geography that please 
girls and boys are those that are most useful to the 
traveler, farmer, fisherman, miner, mechanic, manufac¬ 
turer, and merchant. Children are interested in the 
workers who provide food, clothing, shelter, furniture, 
playthings, tool's, machinery, and other commodities 
which touch the lives of children. They like to know 
where these things come from, how they are obtained, 
how prepared, and how used. The investigation and 
explanation of such facts make geography for many 
children the most interesting and practical of all school 
subjects. Therefore, the applications of geography to 
business and industry predominate in this book, and such 
topics as forests, waterways, crops, farm animals, min¬ 
erals, transportation lines, leading manufactures, ex¬ 
ports and imports are treated more fully than in most 
elementary textbooks. 


V 


VI 


PREFACE 


The book is generously illustrated. Almost two hun¬ 
dred instructive maps and pictures reinforce the text 
with a bulk of geographical material which could not be 
presented with equal reality in any other way. The 
maps deal with such phases of economic geography as 
railroads, steamship lines, domestic animals, crops, and 
manufactures. All details which usually make such maps 
too hard for children to understand have been left out, 
and it is believed that if skillfully used, these maps will 
train children to interpret the graphic form in which 
the data of geography are often given. Both maps and 
pictures enhance the study of contemporary human 
affairs which the text is designed to foster. 

The thanks of the writer are due to Miss Sophia 
Regina Borger, who read the proofs of this book, and to 
Mr. Jacob H. Rohrbach, who contributed the photographs 
reproduced on pages 46 and 121. W. R. 


Contents 

PAGE 

Introduction . i 

I. Size and Surroundings. 5 

II. Surface of the United States. n 

III. Rivers and Lakes. 30 

IV. Climate . 61 

V. People . 75 

VI. Minerals . 9 ° 

VII. Forest and Forest Products. 112 

VIII. Farms and Crops . 128 

IX. Animal Life and Animal Products. 150 

X. Manufacturing . 165 

XI. Commerce . }77 

XII. Outlying Possessions . 202 

Summary and Comparison. 209 


vii 
















List of Maps 


North America—Physical....Frontispiece 


United States—Political .Page 2, 3 

Relief . “ 12 

Physical . “ 14 , 15 

North America—Ice Sheets . “ 1 7 

United States—Weather Map . “ 64 

Mean Annual Temperature . ..... “ 68 

Rainfall . “ 72 

Distribution of Population. “ 86 

Production . “ 88, 89 

Fuel Resources .„. “ 92 

Iron Ore Regions . “ 98 

Mining Centers. „.... ** 100 

Natural Forest Regions. “ 114 

National Forests and National Parks. “ 114 

Irrigation Regions . “ 130 

Corn Production . “ 132 

Wheat Production and Chief Milling 

Centers . " 134 

Cotton Region and Chief Centers of Cotton 

Manufacture . “ 138 

Sugar-cane and Sugar-beet Regions . “ 142 

Distribution of Cattle and Principal Meat 

Packing Centers . “ 160 

Distribution of Swine and Sheep... “ 162 

The World—Colonial Possessions, and Principal Steamship 

Routes, Railroads, and Submarine Telegraph Cables ... .Page 178,179 

United States—Railroads . “ 188, 189 

Electric Lines . “ 196 

Standard Time Belts . “ 197 


Index.. “ 211 

Appendix—Reference Maps.Pages x, xii, xiv, xvi, xviii, xx, xxii, xxiv 

Tables for Reference.Pages xi, xiii, xv, xvii, xix, x*i, xxiii 






























THE UNITED STATES 
AS A WHOLE 


INTRODUCTION 

The United States is our country. It is part of Amer¬ 
ica, or the New World, which Columbus discovered in 
1492 , more than four hundred years ago. After the dis¬ 
covery by Columbus, white men from different countries 
in Europe made settlements in the New World. The 
English people built up thirteen colonies along the At¬ 
lantic coast between the peninsulas of Nova Scotia and 
Florida. 

These thirteen colonies were each controlled by Eng¬ 
land for a long time; but in 1776 they adopted the Decla¬ 
ration of Independence, and joined in the Revolutionary 
War, by which they made themselves free from the 
Mother Country. 

Each colony thus became a state, but united with the 
others to form the country called the United States. 
The original thirteen states are New Hampshire, Mas¬ 
sachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New 
Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, 
North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. They 
occupied the narrow strip of land between the Atlantic 
Ocean and the Appalachian Mountains. The land west 
of the mountains as far as the Mississippi River be¬ 
longed to the United States, but very little of it was 
settled. 

Year by year the enterprising and energetic Ameri¬ 
cans conquered the wilderness. Their progress was not 
stopped by mountains, forests, rivers, or deserts; nor 

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4 


THE UNITED STATES AS A WHOLE 


could the resistance of savage Indians or the opposition 
of other countries check the westward march of Ameri¬ 
can civilization. The people multiplied, and their num¬ 
bers were increased by a steady stream of immigrants 
from Europe. By purchase and by conquest one great 
tract after another has been added to our national do¬ 
main, until now our country reaches across the continent 
from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean, and controls many 
islands beyond the seas. 

The number of states has increased from thirteen to 
forty-eight, and in less than 150 years the United States 
has become the greatest power in the New World, and 
the equal of the greatest in the Old. Our flag is the 
symbol of our country’s origin and its present greatness. 

4 ‘Its stripes of alternate red and white proclaim the 
original union of thirteen states. Its stars of white on 
a field of blue constitute our national constellation, which 
receives a new star with every new state .’ 9 

Questions 

(Turn to the map, pages 2 and 3 .) 

1 . Which states border the Gulf of Mexico! The 
Great Lakes! The Pacific Ocean! 

2 . Which states border on Canada! On Mexico! 

3 . Which states are east of the Mississippi River! 
Which states are west of this river! 

Exercises 

Write from memory the names of all the states. 

Tell in which state each of these cities is located: New 
York, Boston, Providence, Philadelphia, Baltimore, 
Savannah, New Orleans, Galveston, Seattle, Portland, 
San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, St. Louis, Buffalo, 
Detroit, Milwaukee, St. Paul, Cincinnati, Louisville, 
Minneapolis, Denver, Cleveland, and Pittsburgh. 


CHAPTER I 


SIZE AND SURROUNDINGS 

The superiority of the United States is partly due to 
location. North America is directly west of Europe 
across the Atlantic Ocean. It is easily reached by the 
energetic, ambitious, and thrifty European peoples, who 
naturally preferred to settle in a new land where the climate 
resembled their own. North America is also near Asia. 
Most of the land of the globe is north of the Equator. 
Europe, Asia, and North America are grouped around the 
North Pole, and lie closer together than the grand divisions 
of the Southern Hemisphere, which are widely separated by 
the oceans. Most of the important ports of the world are 
in the Northern Hemisphere, and the United States is near 
these ports. 

North America is a great triangle, broad in the north 
and very narrow toward the south. The United States 
is in the middle of North America, in the choicest part 
of the North Temperate Zone. 

Chiefly on account of its broad extent in temperate 
regions and its nearness to Europe and the other land 
north of the Equator, North America has outstripped 
South America in progress, although both grand divi¬ 
sions were discovered at about the same time. 

The United States is not limited in area like Mexico 
and Central America; nor is the climate unfavorable as 
in Central America and large parts of Mexico and Can¬ 
ada. This double advantage of great area and genial 
climate has attracted immigrants to the United States, 
and has enabled this country to outgrow all her American 
neighbors. 


5 


6 


THE UNITED STATES AS A WHOLE 


Size. The area of the main body of the United States 
is more than three million square miles. Alaska in the 
northwestern part of North America belongs to the 
United States, and adds more than a half million square 
miles to its area. Including Alaska, the United States 
is almost as large as Canada, the largest country in the 
Western Hemisphere, and a little larger than Brazil, the 
largest country of South America. It is almost as large 
as Europe, and slightly larger than Australia. 

The distance across the United States from the At¬ 
lantic to the Pacific Ocean is about three thousand miles. 
Its width from Canada on the north to the Gulf of 
Mexico on the south is about fifteen hundred miles. 

Boundaries. The greatest of all the oceans, the Pacific, 
extends for about 1,500 miles along the western coast of 
the United States. The waves of the Atlantic Ocean 
break upon the eastern coast along a distance of about 
2,000 miles. Along about half of our southern boundary 



^ Detroit Photographic Co. 


Norman’s Woe, near Gloucester, Massachusetts. 






SIZE AND SUBROUNDINGS 


7 


the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico add more than 
1,000 miles to the coast line. South of the western United 
States lies Mexico. The Rio Grande forms half of the 
boundary between the two countries; the western half 
of the boundary line has been surveyed and marked by 
setting up boundary stones several miles apart. A river 
is a natural boundary, but even there the exact boundary 
is the middle of the stream. 



Boundary marker. Notice the names on the base. 

The Dominion of Canada is north of the United States. 
Most of the boundary between the two countries is a 
land boundary. The western half of it follows the par¬ 
allel of 49 ° north latitude. About one third of our north¬ 
ern boundary is the middle line in the Great Lakes 
and St. Lawrence River. From the St. Lawrence east¬ 
ward to the Atlantic Ocean there is an irregular land 
and water boundary. 

Coasts. The Atlantic coast of the United States is ir¬ 
regular and has many good harbors. Chief among them 
are Boston Harbor, an arm of Massachusetts Bay; New 
York Bay; Delaware Bay; and Chesapeake Bay. Upon 
these inlets are our four greatest sea ports: New York, 
Philadelphia, Boston, and Baltimore. 



8 


THE UNITED STATES AS A WHOLE 


Other smaller but important ports share in the At¬ 
lantic trade. Farther north than Boston is Portland, 
Maine, on the picturesque Casco Bay. Norfolk, one of 
the greatest peanut markets in the world, and Portsmouth, 
the seat of a great navy yard, are twin ports in Vir¬ 
ginia at the mouth of Chesapeake Bay. Charleston, 
South Carolina, is a large port on the South Atlantic 
coast. Still farther south is Savannah, Georgia, near 
the mouth of the Savannah River. 

New Orleans, Louisiana, on the Mississippi River, is 
the largest Gulf port. More bananas are landed there 
than at any other port in the United States. Galveston, 
Texas, ranks second as a Gulf port. It exports more 
cotton than any other port in the United States. It is 
on an island in Galveston Bay. Mobile, Alabama, is a 
Gulf port situated on Mobile Bay. Tampa, Florida, is 
the principal gateway of trade between the West Indies 
and the United States. 

Along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts are many long, 
narrow sandy islands called beaches. The region around 
Cape Hatteras is noted for severe storms, much dreaded 



Golden Gate, 












SIZE AND SURROUNDINGS 


9 


by sailors. The largest projection from the coast of 
the United States is the peninsula of Florida. 

Off the southern point of Florida lies a chain of many 
small islands, none of which rise more than eight 
or ten feet above the surface of the sea. They are 
called the Florida Keys. “Key” is a Spanish word 
and means a low island. The largest of the Florida 
Keys is Key West. The city of Key West, upon this 
island, is the southernmost city in the United States. 

The water from the Gulf of Mexico flows into the 
Atlantic Ocean through Florida Strait, forming a current 
known as the Gulf Stream. This river of warm water 
flows northward near the coast of the United States. 
As it advances it turns to the east and spreads out into 
a wide, slow drift, called the Westerly Drift, which finally 
reaches the coast of Europe. 

The western coast of the United States has but two 
important indentations. Puget Sound is in the State of 
Washington, at the northwestern corner of the United 
States. San Francisco Bay is on the coast of California. 
It is a beautiful sheet of water, rimmed by hills and 



San Francisco Bay. 






10 THE UNITED STATES AS A WHOLE 


having a narrow entrance called the Golden Gate. Se¬ 
attle, upon Puget Sound, and San Francisco, upon San 
Francisco Bay, control most of the commerce of the 
United States on the Pacific Ocean. Other ports on our 
Pacific coast are San Diego, Los Angeles, and Portland. 

Questions 

1 . In what direction is the United States from 
Canada? From Mexico? Central America? Europe? 
Asia? Africa? Australia? South America? 

2 . To which of these countries or continents must one 
travel from the United States by water? To which may 
one go by land? 

3 . What water separates Lower California from the 
mainland ? 

4 . What large island is south of Florida? 

5 . What capes project from the Pacific coast of the 
United States? 

6 . Where is Cape Cod? What is its form? 

7 . What cape is at the mouth of Delaware Bay? 
What two capes are at the mouth of Chesapeake Bay? 
What cape at the southern end of Florida? 

8 . Where is Puget Sound? San Francisco Bay? 

Exercises 

Draw a map of North America. Mark the boundaries 
of the countries. Locate on the map the Rocky Moun¬ 
tains, Appalachian Mountains, Mississippi River, St. 
Lawrence River, Yukon River, Rio Grande, and the Great 
Lakes. Locate New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, Bos¬ 
ton, San Francisco, St. Louis, Montreal, Quebec, Mex¬ 
ico, and Panama. 

Draw from memory an outline map of the United 
States. Mark on it four harbors on the Pacific coast; 
eight on the Atlantic coast; four on the Gulf coast. 
Mark the cities, capes, and islands referred to in this 
chapter. 


CHAPTER II 


SURFACE OF THE UNITED STATES 

Main Surface Divisions. The western third of the United 
States is part of the Cordilleran Highland of North 
America, which extends northward into Canada and 
Alaska and southward into Mexico. In the eastern part 
of the United States the Appalachian Highland extends 
from Canada to northern Georgia and Alabama. Be¬ 
tween these two highlands lies the Great Central Plain 
of North America. The Atlantic Coast Plain lies be¬ 
tween the Appalachian Highland and the Atlantic Ocean. 
There is a narrow strip of coastal plain along the Pacific 
Ocean in the southwestern part of the United States. 

Atlantic Coast Plain. The Atlantic Coast Plain begins 
at Cape Cod and extends southward along the eastern 
coast of the United States. At its northern end it is 
only a few miles wide, but broadens to a width of more 
than 100 miles in the state of Georgia. It curves 







12 


UNITED STATES 




















SURFACE OF THE UNITED STATES 


13 


westward around the southern end of the Appalachian 
Mountains and merges with the Gulf Coast Plain. 

Appalachian Highland. The Appalachian Highland ex¬ 
tends parallel with the Atlantic Ocean for about 1,500 
miles, from Canada, south of the St. Lawrence River, 
through the United States to the states of Georgia and 
Alabama. North of the United States this region ex¬ 
tends into Newfoundland. This highland consists of 
the Appalachian Mountains; the Piedmont Plateau, ly¬ 
ing along the eastern side of the mountains; and the 
Appalachian Plateau on the western side. The moun¬ 
tains and the plateau region of New England belong 
to the Appalachian Highland. 

The easternmost ridge of the Appalachian Mountains 
is the Blue Ridge, which extends from Pennsylvania to 
Alabama. Mt. Mitchell, one of the peaks of the Blue 
Ridge, is the highest elevation (6,711 feet) east of the 
Mississippi River. 

Piedmont Plateau. At the foot of the eastern slope of 
the Blue Ridge is the Piedmont Plateau. This belt of 
high, rolling country slopes down to the Atlantic Coast 
Plain. The Fall Line is the line where the plateau belt 
descends to the Coast Plain. 

Catskill Mountains. The Catskill Mountains are the 
northeastern end of the Appalachian Plateau. They are 
famous for their scenery and legends. Here is laid the 
scene of Washington Irving’s tale of Rip Van Winkle, 
who, according to the legend, slept in these mountains 
for twenty years, awaking in the early years of Wash¬ 
ington’s term as President of the United States. Many 
hotels accommodate the tourists who resort to these 
lovely mountains in summer. 

Adirondack Mountains. North of the Catskill Mountains, 
in the state of New York, are the Adirondack Mountains. 
These mountains do not form a connected range, but 



14 























































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UNITED STATES 


SCALE OF MILES 


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15 

































16 THE UNITED STATES AS A WHOLE 



©Detroit Photographic Co. 

John Brown’s Grave, Adirondack Mountains. 


consist of about one hundred separate peaks, the highest 
being Mt. Marcy (5,344 feet). The grave of John Brown, 
the Abolitionist, is on his old farm in the Adiron- 
dacks. The Adirondacks are noted for their wild beauty, 
the value of their lumber, the abundance of tlieir fish 
and game, and their pure and healthful atmosphere. 
These attractions draw numerous visitors, and the region 
has become the site of hunting lodges, hotels, camps, and 
cabins, occupied chiefly in summer. 

Great Central Plain. The Great Central Plain comprises 
the heart of our country. This region has the form of a 
shallow trough, more than a thousand miles wide. Along 
its lowest line the majestic Mississippi River flows from 
near Canada to the Gulf. On its eastern side the Cen¬ 
tral Plain is bounded by the Appalachian Plateau, and 
on its western side by the Rocky Mountains. The south¬ 
ern part of the Great Central Plain is called the Gulf 




SURFACE OF THE UNITED STATES 


17 


Coast Plain. This low, level plain borders the Gulf of 
Mexico, and sweeps northward along the Mississippi 
to the month of the Ohio. 

Glacial Drift. Many ages ago the northeastern part 
of the United States was covered by an enormous glacier, 
or sheet of ice. It resembled the great glacier which 
now covers Greenland. The ice of the former glacier 
spread from the Hudson Bay region, Canada, as far 






















18 THE UNITED STATES AS A WHOLE 


south as Long Island, the Ohio River, and the Missouri 
River. It gripped immense masses of rock, gravel, and 
soil in its frozen grasp, and with resistless force carried 
them forward. Traces of the passage of the glacier 
may be found in the scratches and furrows upon rocks 
made by the bowlders and stones which the glacier bore. 
These glacial marks run in a general southerly direction, 
showing the direction in which the glacier moved. The 
snow that fell upon the glacier gradually hardened into 
ice, and its great weight caused the ice sheet to move 
slowly outward from the central portion. The southern 
limit of the ice was the line at which the melting of 
the ice was equal to its forward movement. When the 
climate grew warmer the edge of the ice sheet moved 
northward, and finally withdrew from the United States 
and Canada. 

After the ice had disappeared, the country over which 
it had passed was left covered with a layer of clay, sand, 



A drumlin, Amherst, Massachusetts. 


gravel, and bowlders that had been carried forward by 
the ice. This layer of rocky materials is called glacial 
drift. The surface was much smoother than it was be¬ 
fore the Ice Age. Hills were planed down and valleys 
filled with the glacial drift. Most of the glaciated 








SURFACE OF THE UNITED STATES 


1!) 


. 



Great Central Plain in North Dakota. 


portion of the United States was left with a deep layer 
of drift, but the Hudson Bay country was left bare, for 
its soil had been carried away by the moving ice. In 
places the drift is piled into long, winding ridges called 
moraines. These morainic ridges mark the line where 
the ice front remained stationary for a long period. Oval 
or elongated hills of glacial drift are called drumlins. 

All of New England, nearly all of New York, parts of 
New Jersey and Pennsylvania, and nearly all of the re¬ 
gion north of the Ohio and Missouri rivers is covered 
with glacial drift. The glaciated portion of the Great 
Central Plain is the most extensive farming section of 
the United States. This part of the Great Central Plain 
is known as the Glacial Drift Plain. Most of the Drift 
Plain north of the Ohio was covered with dense forests. 
Illinois, and most of the region north of the Missouri, 
were formerly covered with tall grass, and these areas 
are called the Prairie Plains. 

The highest parts of the Great Central Plain are 








20 THE UNITED STATES AS A WHOLE 


along the western side. The region nearest the Rockies 
is called the Great Plains. It is a high, nearly level re¬ 
gion, sloping from about 5,000 feet above the sea at the 
base of the Rockies to 2,000 feet at the eastern edge 
of the plains. In the northern part of the Great Plains 
the Black Hills rise like a mountainous island above 
the plains. The highest peaks are over 7,000 feet above 
sea level. Along the southern side the Black Hills merge 
into the Bad Lands, so called because they are cut by 
gullies and ravines, which make travel difficult. 



A view of the Bad Lands. 


The southern part of the Great Plains is a plateau re¬ 
gion that descends by a steep slope to the Gulf Coast 
Plain. It is called the Staked Plain. It is a dry and 
treeless region extending for 400 miles north and south, 
and for about 150 miles east and west. 

In the Great Central Plain, south of the region coyered 
by the glacier during the lee Age, is the Ozark Plateau. 
It is old and much weathered like the Appalachian 
Highland, of which it is probably a detached portion. 




SUKFACE OF THE UNITED STATES 


21 


It is much eroded by the action of streams. Along its 
southern border, ridges have been carved from the 
plateau, the softer rocks having been worn away and the 
harder and more resistant rocks being left. Throughout 
the plateau streams have cut deep gorges, often 500 or 
1,000 feet in depth, at the bottom of which the streams 
wind their irregular courses. The plateau covers half 
of the state of Missouri and a part of Arkansas and 
Oklahoma. 

Cordilleran Highland. The Cordilleran Highland region 
is an enormous platform upon which stand high moun¬ 
tain ranges. It is a thousand miles broad, extending 
from the Great Plains to the Pacific Ocean. 

Upon the highest peaks of the Cordilleran Highland 
are fields of snow and glaciers. 



Sperry Glacier, Rocky Mountains, Montana. Notice the terminal 
moraine. 




22 THE UNITED STATES AS A WHOLE 


The Cordilleran Highland is divided into three parts. 
The eastern part is the Rocky Mountains. West of the 
Rocky Mountains is a great plateau belt, made up of 
the Columbia Plateaus, the Great Basin, and the 
Colorado Plateaus. The western part of the Cordilleran 
region is made up of the Pacific Ranges and the great 
valley belt that is almost continuous from the Gulf of 
California to Puget Sound. 

In Alaska there are active volcanoes. There are hun¬ 
dreds of slight earthquakes felt yearly along the Pacific 
coast. Some earthquakes are severe and do great dam¬ 
age. The most disastrous earthquake ever experienced 
in the United States partly destroyed the city of San 
Francisco in 1906. Many buildings were thrown down, 
many human lives were lost and enormous wealth was 
turned to smoke and ashes in the fire which followed. 

Rocky Mountains. The Rocky Mountains are the long¬ 
est and most extensive system of mountains in North 
America. The name is appropriate, for there are many 
naked rocks and precipices. Between the northern and 
the southern ranges of the Rockies is a plateau 7,000 or 



Effects of an earthquake. 







SUEFACE OF THE UNITED STATES 


23 


8,000 feet high. It slopes gradually upward from the 
Great Plains, and includes the central part of the state 
of Wyoming. It is so nearly level that one may cross it 
from east to west and see no mountains. This natural 
opening in the mountain wall is the place where the first 
railroad was built across the Eocky Mountains. 

The chief water parting in the United States,—that 
which separates the streams of the Great Central Plain 
from those flowing into the Pacific, follows the crests 
of the Eocky Mountains. Such a water parting is called 
a continental divide. 



© Detroit Publishing Co. 


Continental Divide as seen from Yankee Doodle Lake, Colorado. 

In the northern Eockies there are many wonderful 
examples of volcanic action. Springs of hot water 
abound. In some of them the steam forces the water 
to rise at intervals in high columns. These spouting 
springs are called geysers, from the name of a similar 
spring in Iceland. The section containing these springs 






24 THE UNITED STATES AS A WHOLE 


has been reserved by the government into a great public 
park “or pleasure ground for the benefit and enjoyment 
of the people,” called the Yellowstone National Park. 



©Underwood & Underwood 

Beryl Spring, Yellowstone Park. 


The southern ranges of the Rockies are higher and 
more irregular than those of the north. Hundreds of 
peaks rise more than ten thousand feet above the sea. 
The highest peak in the Rocky Mountains is Mt. Mas¬ 
sive (14,424 feet), in the state of Colorado. Better 
known, though not so lofty as several others, is Pikes 
Peak, near the city of Denver, Colorado. It rises more 
than 14,000 feet above the sea level. The treeless, 
rocky summit is reached by a cogwheel railroad, and 
by automobile highway, and is visited by many tourists. 
The irregular ranges of the southern Rockies enclose 




SURFACE OF THE UNITED STATES 


25 


lofty mountain valleys of great extent. On account of 
their beautiful scenery and fine forests of pines and 
other trees, these valleys are called parks. 

Pacific Ranges* The Pacific Ranges include the Sierra 
Nevada, the Cascade Mountains, and the Coast Ranges. 
Between the Coast Ranges and the Sierra Nevada is the 
Great Valley of California. Between the Coast Ranges 
and the Cascade Mountains is a belt of lowland occupied 
by the Willamette River and Puget Sound. 

The Cascade Mountains are named from the cascades 
and rapids of the Columbia River where it breaks 
through the mountains on its way to the Pacific Ocean. 
They consist largely of volcanic material, and many of 
the peaks are extinct volcanoes. The two highest peaks 
are Mt. Rainer (14,408 feet), in Washington, and Mt. 
Hood (11,200 feet), in Oregon. Other high peaks are 
Mt. Baker, Mt. St. Helens, Mt. Adams, and Mt. Jefferson. 
The snowy summits of these peaks are the birthplaces of 
mountain glaciers. 

The Sierra Nevada extend along the eastern border of 
California. ‘ ‘ Sierra ’ ’ means saw, and applies to the 
series of sharp peaks which jut into the clear California 
sky. “Nevada” means snowy. Mt. Whitney (14,500 
feet), the highest peak in the main body of the United 
States, is in the southern part of this range. The 
scenery in the Sierra changes from snowy summits, great 
surfaces of polished rock and deep chasms to fine forests, 
lovely lakes, and peaceful meadows. The variety of 
scenes and the splendor of coloring make the Sierra 
Nevada unrivaled among the mountain regions of our 
country. 

The most wonderful place in the Sierra Nevada is 
the Yosemite Valley, one of the deep glacial gorges on 
the western slope of the range. It is seven miles long, 
less than a mile wide, and almost a mile deep. The 


26 THE UNITED STATES AS A WHOLE 


granite walls are almost vertical, and rise in towering 
domes and cliffs from three thousand to five thousand 
feet above the bottom of the gorge. Streams flowing 
from the upper parts of the surrounding mountains, on 
reaching the edge of the cliffs, leap into space and dis¬ 
appear in mist. Such is the noted Bridal Veil Fall, 900 



Yosemite Falls, Yosemite National Park. 






SURFACE OF THE UNITED STATES 


27 


feet high. The great Yosemite Fall, 2,600 feet high, is 
the highest waterfall in the world. No place on earth 
can equal the Yosemite Valley for the number and height 
of its perpendicular falls and the massive grandeur of 
its crags and precipices. Like Yellowstone Park, this 
valley and the country around it have been set aside 
for the use of the public as a national park. 

The Coast Eanges extend all along the Pacific coast 
of the United States. There is only a very narrow 
coastal plain along the coast, and in many places the 
mountains reach to the very ocean. Their summits are 
not so high as those of the Cascades or Sierra Nevada. 
Through the sinking of the coast a long drowned valley 
now appears as Puget Sound. Another drowned valley 
forms San Francisco Bay. 

The Interior Plateaus. Shut in between the Sierra Ne¬ 
vada and Cascade Ranges on the west and the Rocky 
Mountain system on the east is the plateau belt of the 
Cordilleran Highland. It is divided into three parts: 
the Columbia Plateaus in the north, along the Canadian 
border; the Colorado Plateaus in the south, adjoining 
Mexico; and the Great Basin which lies between these 
plateaus and is divided from the Colorado Plateaus by 
the Wasatch Mountains. 

Although mostly a plateau of enormous area, the 
Great Basin is so called because it is surrounded by the 
higher parts of the Cordilleran Highland, and is a region 
that has no outlet to the sea. The southern end of the 
Great Basin is Death Valley, a region below sea level. 
The Great Basin has many narrow mountain ranges 
with sharp slopes, separated by broad desert valleys. 
Soil, eroded from the Basin ranges, and carried by wind 
and floods, has almost filled the intervening valleys; and 
so these ranges are partly-buried mountains. 

Death Valley is so called because in 1849, the year 


28 THE UNITED STATES AS A WHOLE 


following the discovery of gold in California, a party 
of emigrants perished there of starvation and thirst. 
It is a long, narrow valley, the lowest part being three 
or four hundred feet below sea level. In this valley 
there are great deposits of salt, borax and nitrate of 
soda. These minerals were deposited there by a lake 
which has since dried up. They have been preserved 
in the soil because of the absence of rain. 



Canyon of the Provo River, Wasatch Mountains. These mountains 
overlooking the Great Basin, are high enough to have consider¬ 
able rainfall. 





SURFACE OF THE UNITED STATES 


29 


The Columbia Plateaus are a high, level region, formed 
largely of sheets of lava, which have buried the valleys 
and mountains of an earlier age. These sheets of lava 
have been deeply cut by streams. 

The Colorado Plateaus are southeast of the Great 
Basin. Much of the surface is remarkably level, although 
in places it is broken by great cliffs, deep canyons, and 
volcanic mountains. The most important feature of the 
Colorado Plateaus is the Grand Canyon of the Colorado. 
In this part of its valley the river has cut a canyon a 
mile deep through solid rock. The tumult of color and 
riot of form along the sides of the canyon make this 
region one of the marvels of the earth. Most of the can¬ 
yon is included in two national parks. San Francisco 
Mountain (12,700 feet), an extinct volcano in northern 
Arizona, is the highest peak of the Colorado Plateaus. 

Questions 

(Turn to the map, pages 14 and 15.) 

1. Which regions of the United States are below sea 
level ? 

2. On which slope of the Appalachian Highland is 
the Piedmont Plateau? The Appalachian Plateau? 

3. Which is the highest peak east of the Mississippi 
River? Where is Mt. Washington? Mt. Marcy? 

4. In about what longitude is the eastern part of the 
Great Plains? 

5. What are some of the chief peaks of the Rocky 
Mountains? Of the Cascade Mountains? Sierra Nevada? 

6. What are the three divisions of the plateau belt 
west of the Rocky Mountains? 

7. What mountains lie close to the Pacific coast? 

Exercises 

On an outline map of the United States shade the Ap¬ 
palachian Highland lightly, and the Cordilleras heavily. 
Mark the mountain ranges, plateaus, peaks, and the 
plains, with their names. 


CHAPTER III 


RIVERS AND LAKES 

Drainage Slopes of the United States. A small part of the 
northern United States is drained northward through 
the Red River into the Nelson-Saskatchewan River of 
Canada and thence into Hudson Bay. Some small 
streams of the Great Central Plain flow into the Great 
Lakes. Most of the southern slope of the Great Central 
Plain, however, is drained by the Mississippi and other 
rivers which flow into the Gulf of Mexico. The western 
slope of the Cordilleran Highland is drained by rivers 
that flow into the Pacific Ocean. In this Highland there 
are a number of small basins that have no outlet to the 
ocean, chiefly because they have so little rainfall. The 
Atlantic Ocean receives the waters of the St. Lawrence 
River system, including the Great Lakes, and of many 
smaller but important rivers farther south that drain 
the Appalachian Highland and the Atlantic Coast Plain. 

Rivers 

The Mississippi River flows southward across the United 
States. It rises close to a tributary of the north-flowing 
Red River. Its sources are in a group of small glacial 
lakes in the northern part of the state of Minnesota. It 
flows out of Lake Itasca as a small stream, but gathers 
water rapidly from many tributaries. With the main 
stream they form one of the grandest river systems in 
the world and drain one third of the United States. Of 
the tributaries the Missouri is the longest. The distance 

30 


RIVERS AND LAKES 


31 


from the source of the Missouri River to the Mississippi 
and thence to the Gulf of Mexico is 4,200 miles. No¬ 
where else in the world is there so long a stream of fresh 
water. The Mississippi from Lake Itasca to the Gulf of 
Mexico is 2,600 miles long. To the mouth of the Ohio 
River it flows through the region covered by the great 
Ice Sheet. It then flows through the Gulf Coast Plain. 
“Mississippi” is an Indian word meaning “Great 
Water.” The lower Mississippi was discovered in 1541 



Statue of De Soto, St. Louis. 


by the Spanish explorer, De Soto. De Soto died during 
the expedition. His followers placed his body in the 
hollow trunk of a tree and sank the rude coffin beneath 
the waters of the mighty river. More than a century 
afterward two Frenchmen, Joliet, a fur trader, and 
Father Marquette, a missionary, made their way in a 
canoe from the upper course of the Mississippi to the 
mouth of the Arkansas River. La Salle, another French- 







32 THE UNITED STATES AS A WHOLE 


man, was the first white man to journey down the Mis¬ 
sissippi to its mouth. 

Along its upper course, the Mississippi has many 
rapids and falls that furnish water power. The most 
famous are the Falls of St. Anthony in Minnesota, which 
furnish power for the flour mills of Minneapolis; and 
the Des Moines rapids at Keokuk which furnish a vast 
amount of power for St. Louis and other cities. 

Along the upper Mississippi the bluffs are several 
hundred feet high and the bottom lands are narrow. 
Along the lower Mississippi the bluffs are about 100 to 
200 feet high, disappearing as one approaches the mouth 
of the river. They are farther apart than along the 
upper course, the flood plain between them ranging from 
25 to 80 miles in width. There are many bridges across 
the upper Mississippi, but only a few across the lower 
part. 



The lower Mississippi winds through its valley in 
long curves called meanders. Some obstruction, as a 
tree lodged on the shore, may cause a river to make a 
slight bend (1). The more rapid current flows against 
the outside of the curve and washes away the bank, thus 
increasing the bend. At the inside of the bend the cur¬ 
rent is slower and sediment is deposited there (2). These 
meanders increase until they take the form of oxbow 
bends (3). Finally in a flood the river cuts a new 
channel across the narrow neck of land between the bend 







RIVERS AND LAKES 


33 


(4), which becomes the main channel. The ends of the 
old channel fill with sediment and the abandoned part 
of the channel becomes an oxbow lake. The distance 
in a direct line from the mouth of the Ohio to the month 
of the Mississippi is 560 miles, but on account of its 
irregular course the river between these points is twice 
as long. 

Embankments, called levees, have been built along the 
lower Mississippi wherever the banks are low. There 
are about 1,500 miles of levees along the Mississippi 
River. After very heavy rains, and in the spring, when 
the snow melts, the river is unusually high. The Missis¬ 
sippi can carry off the flood waters of one great tribu¬ 
tary, but when two or three of them pour their spring 
or summer floods into the central stream it rises far 
above its usual height and overflows its banks. Then the 
levees are watched with anxiety and constantly mended, 
for a little leak grows with incredible rapidity and 



© Detroit Publishing Co. 

Protecting a levee by facing it with a raft of woven willows. 






34 THE UNITED STATES AS A WHOLE 


threatens ruin to the adjoining villages and farms. The 
country for miles may be deluged. Villages are de¬ 
stroyed, farm buildings and trees swept away, horses 
and cattle drowned and human lives lost. Sometimes 
whole fields are dug away, and the owners lose not only 
houses, crops, and live stock, but their land as well. 

The government of the United States, which built the 
levees at great cost, spends large sums every year to 
keep them in repair. 

The enormous quantities of fine mud, called silt, which 
the Mississippi River receives from its tributaries and 
wears from its own banks, are at length brought to the 
Gulf of Mexico. Here they are deposited at the mouth 
of the river as bars, which unite and form a low, fertile 
plain, barely higher than the level of the sea. Through 
this plain the Mississippi washes its way by numerous 
channels, called passes, which distribute its waters to 



A jetty at the mouth of the Mississippi. 


the Gulf of Mexico. Such a tract of land formed of 
sediment at the mouth of a river is called a delta. 

To enable large ocean vessels to reach the city of New 





RIVERS AND LAKES 


35 


Orleans two of tlie passes, Southwest Pass and South 
Pass, have been narrowed and lengthened by building 
walls, called jetties, of stone and other material topped 
with concrete. By confining the water within a nar¬ 
rower channel the current is made powerful enough to 
wash away the bar at the mouth of the pass and 
scour a channel 200 or 300 feet wide and 30 to 35 
feet deep. 

The government of the United States, which built 
and maintains the jetties, also keeps great dredges at 
work digging away bars and other obstructions from 
the channel of the Mississippi. 

Above Minneapolis the river is navigable only for 
small boats and is used mostly for floating down great 
rafts of logs from the lumber regions. 

The Missouri River. From its source at a height of 8,000 
feet in the Rocky Mountains near Yellowstone National 
Park to its junction with the Mississippi the Missouri is 
about 3,000 miles long. 

It drains a greater area than any of the other branches, 
but it brings relatively little water into the Mississippi, 
because it flows through a region of little rainfall. 

At Great Falls, in the state of Montana, the river 
descends over a number of falls, one of which has a 
descent of 87 feet. The town of Great Falls nearby gets 
power from these falls for its electric light plant and its 
street railways. Below the falls the current is slow and 
the river has meanders and oxbow lakes. Its bed is 
obstructed by the trunks and roots of fallen trees, and 
by bars and islands. When floods increase its depth, the 
river is navigable almost to Great Falls. The melting 
of snow on the Great Plains in spring is followed by the 
melting of snow in the mountains, so that deep water 
lasts until midsummer. No other branch of the Missis¬ 
sippi brings down so much silt as the Missouri. The 


36 THE UNITED STATES AS A WHOLE 


Indians observed this and named the river ‘ ‘ Missouri,’ 7 
meaning “muddy water.’’ 

The Yellowstone River is a branch of the Missouri. In 
Yellowstone Park it forms a magnificent lake. After 
leaving Yellowstone Lake it falls over high cliffs and 
enters the “Grand Canyon,” a gorge 24 miles long. 

The layers of rock at the sides of the gorge are col¬ 
ored bright red, yellow, and purple and contrast beau¬ 
tifully with the somber green of the pine trees and white 



Yellowstone Falls, Yellowstone National Park. 


foam of the cataracts and rapids. Many hot springs and 
geysers drain into the Yellowstone. 

The Arkansas River rises at an elevation of over ten 
thousand feet. At first it is a mountain torrent flowing 
down the eastern slope of the Rocky Mountains. Then it 






RIVERS AND LAKES 


37 


flows through the Royal Gorge, a canyon which it has 
cut through a plateau. The sand and silt which it 
washes from the mountains are deposited along its 
lower course, where the current is slow. The Arkansas 
River has frequent floods. At times the river is more 
than 20 feet deep, and at other times there is only a foot 
or two of water. There is a fringe of swamps along the 
river, interspersed with rich bottom land. 

Steamers can navigate the Arkansas River in all 
seasons of the year for about 100 miles west of its 
mouth, to Pine Bluff. They connect that city with 
Memphis, and New Orleans. 

The Red River rises in the Staked Plain at an elevation 



Royal Gorge, Grand Canyon of the Arkansas, Colorado. 



38 THE UNITED STATES AS A WHOLE 


of about 2,500 feet. Near the abrupt eastern edge of the 
Staked Plain it plunges into a canyon 500 feet deep. 
The entire upper course is through a very dry region. 

The lower course is winding. Its waters are dis¬ 
colored by red mud which gives the river its name. It 
flows partly into the Mississippi River and partly into 
the Atchafalaya Bayou, which carries some of the water 
of the Mississippi and Red rivers through the low, 
swampy bottoms west of the Mississippi and discharges 
it into the Gulf. 

The Red River is subject to sudden and severe floods. 
The United States has built and maintains levees, and 
closed the outlets through which the waters drain oft into 
the adjacent swamps. The channel is thus made deep 
enough for vessels of shallow draft. 

The Ohio River is the one great branch which flows into 
the Mississippi from the east. It is formed on the west¬ 
ern slope of the Appalachian Mountains by two rivers, 
the Monongahela and the Allegheny. The Monongahela 





(Underwood & Underwood 


Canal leading around rapids of the Ohio, Louisville, Kentucky 




RIVERS AND LAKES 


39 


River flows north and the Allegheny south. They meet 
in western Pennsylvania. At the junction is located the 
city of Pittsburgh. Like the two streams which form 
it, the Ohio hears an Indian name. 

The Ohio River pours more water into the Missis¬ 
sippi than any one of the three great western tributaries. 
It flows through a narrow valley which, like the Mis¬ 
souri on the west, marks approximately the southern 
limit of the great ice sheet. The Ohio is comparatively 
free from falls. The most important rapids are less than 
25 feet high. On the south bank of the river, beside these 
rapids, is located the city of Louisville, Kentucky. 



© Detroit Publishing Co. 

Flood at Dayton, Ohio. 


The Ohio is subject to floods in the spring, when 
freshets from its northern and southern branches cause 
the river to rise from 25 to 50 feet above its usual level. 
The floods cause much damage to farms and parts of 
cities on the alluvial plain. The lowlands near the mouth 
are protected by levees. The government of the United 




40 THE UNITED STATES AS A WHOLE 


States has built dams to deepen the water and thus make 
the river navigable even in dry seasons. 

The Ohio River has a prominent place in the history of 
our country. George Washington, when a young man, 
made a famous journey through the forest to the French 
fort, on the present site of Pittsburgh. Afterward he 
accompanied the British General Braddock, who was 
killed in an attempt to capture the fort. For many years 
the Ohio River, with Mason and Dixon’s Line between 
Pennsylvania and Maryland, was the dividing line be¬ 
tween the slave states and the free states. Before the 
construction of railroads the Ohio was the natural high¬ 
way for pioneers on their way to the forests and prairies 
west of the Alleghenies. Abraham Lincoln was but one 
of many great men who in their boyhood toiled upon 
the great flatboats which carried lumber and other 
products down the Ohio and Mississippi rivers. 

Questions 

1. What are the chief branches of the Mississippi? 

2. Which come from the west? Which from the east? 
Which is the longest? Which brings most water into 
the Mississippi? 

3. Which tributaries of the Mississippi carry much 
sediment ? 

4. What causes floods in the Mississippi Valley? 

5. Which rivers unite to form the Ohio? 

The Rio Grande (Great River) is, next to the Missis¬ 
sippi, the longest river which flows into the Gulf of 
Mexico. It rises in the Rocky Mountains of the United 
States, and flows southeast. Near its headwaters, 12,- 
000 feet above the sea, it is first a mountain torrent and 
then flows through canyons which it has eroded. Be¬ 
fore it leaves New Mexico it enters upon the second part 
of its course, becoming a sluggish stream choked with 


RIVERS AND LAKES 


41 


sand and silt. This lower course lies through the 
prairies and low Gulf Coast Plain. This part of the 
river is marked by meanders and many deposits of silt 
from its mountainous upper course. They obstruct the 
river so that it is of little importance for navigation. 

The Rio Grande is about 2,200 miles long and for 1,300 
miles, from the city of El Paso, Texas, to the Gulf of 
Mexico, it forms the international boundary between 
Mexico and the United States. The upper part of the 
river is tapped at many places and its scanty water 
supply is drawn off to irrigate the land of the almost 
rainless territory through which it passes. 

Between the city of El Paso, in the United States, and 
the opposite city, Ciudad Juarez, on the Mexican side, 
the Rio Grande is spanned by several bridges. There 
are bridges at Laredo also. 

The bars which obstruct the lower river prevent ocean¬ 
going vessels, except those of small size, from ascending 
the river even to Matamoros, in Mexico, opposite 
Brownsville, Texas. These ports are about 25 miles 
from the mouth of the Rio Grande. 

The numerous rivers of the Atlantic Coast Plain are 
shorter than those of the Great Central Plain. On ac¬ 
count of the importance of the region through which 
they flow, their navigability, and their influence upon the 
history and growth of our country, these rivers equal in 
commercial and industrial importance the larger 
streams of other sections. 

St. Lawrence River. The St. Lawrence is the outlet of 
the Great Lakes and one of the greatest rivers in the 
world. Ocean steamers ascend the St. Lawrence to the 
great Canadian seaports, Quebec and Montreal. But 
both these cities are ice-bound for five months in the 
year. Then part of their traffic turns to Portland, Maine 
and Boston, Massachusetts, which have open harbors 


42 THE UNITED STATES AS A WHOLE 



§) Detroit Photographic Co. 

St. Lawrence River, 

throughout the winter. Most of the important tribu¬ 
taries of the St. Lawrence come from the north, so that, 
although the United States owns more than half of the 
Great Lakes, about two thirds of the basin of the St. 
Lawrence belongs to Canada. From its source in Lake 
Ontario to the point where it crosses the parallel of 45° 
north latitude, it is the boundary between Canada and 
the United States. 

The Connecticut River rises in Connecticut Lake near the 
Canadian border, and flows south for about 350 miles 
into Long Island Sound. In its upper course it flows be¬ 
tween wooded banks and over a rocky bed. Its lower 
course is marked by broad alluvial bottoms, forming the 
fertile Connecticut valley, a rich and thickly populated 
farming region. 

The Hudson River, although only about three hundred 
miles long, is one of the most important waterways in 
the United States. It is also one of our most beautiful 
streams. It rises in the wildest part of the Adirondack 






RIVERS AND LAKES 


43 


Mountains in northern New York State, and receives 
the water of many mountain lakes and small streams. 
This part of the Hudson has rapids and falls, some of 
which have considerable height and great beauty. At 
Glens Falls there is a descent of 50 feet. Between this 
place and Troy there are falls and rapids which furnish 
power for busy factories and mills. 

The river is navigable for 150 miles to Troy, at the 
head of tidewater. For miles it flows through a pictur¬ 
esque and mountainous region called the Highlands. In its 
lower course it flows through a gorge-like valley. The Hud¬ 
son is really an arm of the sea occupying a sunken valley, and 
not a true river. A great river once carved the valley it 
now occupies. The western bank of the lower river is a 
ridge 300 to 500 feet high of hard lava rock, or basalt, called 
“trap rock.” On account of its rudely jointed columns it is 
called the Palisades. At Tarrytown, on the eastern bank, a 
monument marks the spot where Major Andre, the British 
spy, was captured during the Revolution. Here too is 
Sunnyside, the cottage where Washington Irving lived. 
The charm of Irving’s stories of Sleepy Hollow, of 



Northern end of the Palisades, New Jersey. 




44 THE UNITED STATES AS A WHOLE 


Ichabod Crane and of the Headless Horseman is in¬ 
separable from this part of the Hudson valley, as his 
story of Rip Van Winkle is part of the charm of the 
Highlands of the Hudson and the adjacent Catskill 
Mountains. At the mouth of the Hudson several rocky 
islands, the crests of sunken hills, rise above the water. 
The most important is Manhattan Island, part of the 
city of New York. 



© Underwood & Underwood 


Poughkeepsie Bridge across the Hudson. 


The Hudson was named for Henry Hudson who ex¬ 
plored the river in 1609 and established the claim of the 
Dutch to the surrounding region as far up the river as 
Albany. Upon the Hudson, Robert Fulton launched his 
successful steamboat, the Clermont, which plied between 
New York and Albany. 

The most southern bridge across the Hudson is at 
Poughkeepsie. Three railroad tunnels under the river 
join the city of New York with New Jersey. 





BIVERS AND LAKES 


45 


The chief tributary of the Hudson is the Mohawk 
-River, which rises near Lake Ontario and makes its way 
eastward to the Hudson through a valley between the 
Catskills and the Adirondacks. This is the lowest and 
therefore the most useful of the many Appalachian gaps 
which connect the Great Central Plain and the Atlantic 
Coast Plain. 

The Delaware Diver is more than 350 miles long. At 
Delaware Water Gap it cuts across the Ivittatinny Moun¬ 
tains. The scenery along the upper Delaware is ex¬ 
quisite. High banks, heavily wooded, alternate with 
peaceful and fertile farmland. The upper part of the 
river has numerous rapids which afford water power. 
At Trenton, New Jersey, the Delaware crosses the Pall 
Line in passing from the Piedmont Plateau to the At¬ 
lantic Coast Plain. At this point are rapids. The lower 
Delaware and Delaware Bay, like the lower Hudson, 
form an estuary. The importance of Philadelphia is 
largely due to its location on the Delaware. 



© Detroit Photographic Co. 

Delaware Water Gap. 




4G THE UNITED STATES AS A WHOLE 


The Susquehanna River is a wide and stately stream 
about 400 miles long, but shallow, with many windings 
and numerous islands. Its east branch flows through 
the famed Wyoming valley, a region rich in timber and 



Susquehanna River and Valley. The weirs in the river are to catch fish. 


minerals and in glorious scenery. Here was the scene 
of a bloody massacre during the Revolution. CampbelUs 
poem, “Gertrude of Wyoming ,’ 9 is based on this event. 

The Potomac River is about 450 miles long. It rises in 
the Allegheny Mountains and flows into Chesapeake Bay. 
At Harpers Ferry it flows through the Blue Ridge in a 
gap of great scenic beauty. The Fall Line where the 
Potomac leaves the Piedmont belt and enters the At¬ 
lantic Coast Plain is near the city of Washington. Here 
there are rapids and cataracts. 

On the Potomac River are located Washington, the 
capital of the United States; Mount Vernon, the resi¬ 
dence of George Washington; Arlington, the site of a 
great national cemetery; and many other places con- 



RIVERS AND LAKES 


47 


nected with the history of our country. Below Wash¬ 
ington the Potomac is really an arm of Chesapeake 
Bay. 

The James River is about 400 miles long. Richmond, at 
the Fall Line, has fine water power, the river descending 
one hundred feet in a distance of a few miles. The lower 



© Detroit Publishing Co. 


Falls of the James River, Richmond, Virginia. 

course is a broad and majestic estuary. On what was 
formerly a peninsula and is now an island in the river, 
Jamestown, the first permanent settlement in the 
United States, was established by Captain John Smith 
in 1607. 

The Savannah River is 450 miles long. Augusta is at the 
Fall Line, 231 miles from the mouth. This is the head 
of navigation for small craft. Savannah, a leading sea¬ 
port of the South, is situated on this river. 

The St. Johns River is a wide, deep stream in Florida. 
Ocean steamers sail on this waterway to Jacksonville, 
which is about 20 miles from the Atlantic. 








48 THE UNITED STATES AS A WHOLE 


Questions 

1. What large river flows into the Gulf of Mexico 
west of the mouth of the Mississippi? 

2. In what direction does the land slope from Lake 
Ontario to the Gulf of St. Lawrence ? How can you tell ? 

3. What climatic condition lessens the commercial im¬ 
portance of the St. Lawrence River? 

4. How do vessels pass from Lake Ontario to Lake 
Erie? 

5. Which rivers, wholly in the United States, flow 
directly into the Atlantic Ocean? Which of these have 
estuaries? What is an estuary? 

The Columbia River is the longest river of the United 
States proper that flows directly into the Pacific Ocean. 
In its southern course it flows through the Columbia 
Plateaus. Here it has eroded steep and rugged canyons 
in the basalt, or hard lava rock. At places the black 
walls of the canyons rise one thousand feet above the 
river. In many places the course of the Columbia is 
broken by rapids and falls which add to the wild and 
picturesque beauty of the scenery, but hinder its use¬ 
fulness for navigation. The last of the obstructions occur 
where the river crosses the Cascade Mountains. Here the 
river descends about 300 feet through a short gorge from 
2,000 to 4,000 feet deep. From the sea to the Cascades, a 
distance of 160 miles, the Columbia is navigable. By means 
of a canal, boats pass the Cascades and continue fifty miles 
farther east up the stream to a series of falls and rapids called 
the Dalles. Here another canal enables vessels to ascend 
to Lewiston, Idaho, almost 500 miles from the sea. The 
broad mouth of the Columbia affords an ample and secure 
haven for ships. It is the only fresh water harbor on 
the Pacific coast of the United States, and the only safe 
harbor between Puget Sound and San Francisco Bay. 
The Columbia has a full and even flow of water, and is 
not subject to floods. 


RIVERS AND LAKES 


49 



The Dalles, Columbia River, Oregon. 

The Columbia River was named from the ship, “Co¬ 
lumbia” in which Captain Robert Gray, of Boston, at 
the close of the 18th century, sailed into the river. He 
claimed the surrounding country for the United States. 

The Snake River, nearly a thousand miles long, is the 
largest tributary of the Columbia. For about one hun¬ 
dred and fifty miles above its junction with the Colum¬ 
bia it is navigable for small steamers. 

The Willamette River is navigable from its mouth to 
the great city of Portland, Oregon, 15 miles above its 
junction with the Columbia River. Above Portland 
there are falls 40 feet high at Oregon City. By means 
of a canal small steamboats pass these falls and ascend 
a hundred miles farther south to Eugene. 

The Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers drain the Great 
Valley of California. The northern part of the valley 
is drained by the Sacramento, a stream about 400 miles 
long. The San Joaquin River drains the southern part. 
These rivers chiefly drain the eastern mountains, receiv¬ 
ing but little drainage from the Coast Ranges. They 



50 THE UNITED STATES AS A WHOLE 



San Joaquin River, California. 


unite to form a single stream which flows into San 
Francisco Bay. 

The Colorado River rises in northern Colorado. Its upper 
course was long known as the Grand River. In Utah it is 
joined by the Green River, which rises in Wyoming, south of 
Yellowstone Park and near the sources of the Snake 
and Yellowstone rivers. 

The valley of the Colorado River exhibits the most re¬ 
markable examples of erosion by water in the world. 
The river flows through canyons thousands of feet deep. 
The Grand Canyon is from four to twenty miles wide 
at the top, over 200 miles long, and about a mile deep. 
Gulleys and gorges branch off from each side like “a 
thousand Yosemites.” 

After leaving the Colorado Plateaus, the Colorado 
River flows through a desert lowland. Here the current 
is slow, and the sediment brought down from the plateau 
forms bars, making navigation difficult. The Colorado 
is navigable for about 550 miles above its mouth. 




RIVERS AND LAKES 


51 



Grand Canyon of the Colorado. This deep, narrow valley has been 
carved out of the solid rock by the river. Notice the horizontal 
layers of rock at the sides of the canyon. Compare the depth 
of this colossal gorge with the size of the man sitting on the brink. 





52 THE UNITED STATES AS A WHOLE 


The Gila River is the chief tributary of the lower course 
of the Colorado. 

The Great Basin has no important rivers. In most 
parts of this section the rainfall is not enough to keep 
water in the streams. The air is dry and the water of 
the streams evaporates rapidly. The rivers flow into 
hollows and form interior drainage systems, with no out¬ 
let to the sea. 

The largest of these inland rivers is the Humboldt River 
in the state of Nevada. It follows a winding course 
southwestward for about 300 miles, and ends in Hum¬ 
boldt Lake. Similar smaller streams are found through¬ 
out the Great Basin. 

Questions 

1. Which rivers flow into the Pacific Ocean? 

2. Which rivers rise near Pikes Peak? Into what 
water does each flow? 

3. Which three rivers rise near Yellowstone Park? 
Into what water does each flow? 

4. Why are there no large rivers in the Great Basin? 

5. Which rivers drain the Great Valley of California? 

6. How was the Grand Canyon formed? 

Exercises 

On a physical map of the United States draw the prin¬ 
cipal rivers. 

Trace two routes from Chicago to the Atlantic Ocean. 

Trace two routes from the Adirondacks to the At¬ 
lantic Ocean. 

Collect pictures and printed descriptions of the Grand 
Canyon of the Colorado. 


RIVERS AND LAKES 


53 


Lakes 


North America, like the other grand divisions of the 
Northern Hemisphere, has many lakes. Most of them 
are in Canada and the northern United States. They 
range in size from the Great Lakes to tiny ponds. 

Glacial Lakes. By far the greater number are glacial 
lakes, strung like jewels upon our northern streams. 
The irregular deposit of glacial drift by the ice sheets 
during the Ice Age dammed many of the valleys and 
formed natural reservoirs into which the water collected, 
thus forming lakes. 

There are more than a thousand glacial lakes in New 
York and Maine, more than two thousand in Wisconsin 
and Minnesota, and hundreds in other northern states. 
Situated in the hills, often surrounded by forests and 
dotted by wooded islets, these lakes and ponds give 
variety and beauty to our northern states. Many of 
them are popular summer resorts. 

Lake Champlain. Between the Adirondack Mountains 
and the Green Mountains lies Lake Champlain. It occu- 



Ivaaterskill Lakes, Catskill Mountains, New York. 








54 THE UNITED STATES AS A WHOLE 


pies a narrow valley more than 100 miles long and from 
half a mile to ten miles wide. The irregular and moun¬ 
tainous shores are beautiful. From the south, Lake 
George, about one fourth as long as Lake Champlain, 
flows into it through Ticonderoga Creek. Nowhere is 
there more charming scenery than that afforded by the 



© Detroit Photographic Co. 


Southern end of Lake George. 


placid green water, reflecting the white birch and other 
trees of the rocky islands and mountainous shores of 
Lake George. Lake Champlain and Lake George, with 
the Hudson Eiver, are a natural avenue leading from 
Canada into the United States. This route was much 
traveled by the Indians, and contending armies used it 
during the French and Indian War as well as during the 
Revolution. The region has been the scene of stirring 
events which are recorded in American history, in In¬ 
dian legends, and in Cooper’s novels. 

The Great Lakes. The Great Lakes are a chain of five 
lakes, connected by short rivers. The Great Lakes 









RIVERS AND LAKES 


55 


contain thousands of islands. Lake Superior is the 
largest, highest and most western; Lake Ontario is the 
lowest, most eastern, and smallest. The lakes lie at 
different levels. The St. Mary River carries the water 
of Lake Superior into Lake Huron. The Strait of 
Mackinac connects Lake Michigan with Lake Huron. 
Lake Huron flows into Lake Erie through the narrow 
waterway consisting of the St. Clair River, St. Clair 
Lake, and the Detroit River. Lake Ontario lies much 
lower than Lake Erie. The water from Lake Erie flows 
through the Niagara River and leaps over a precipice 
161 feet high, after which it descends still farther in 
rapids through a narrow, rocky gorge. 

Niagara Falls are visited by hundreds of thousands of 
tourists. The spectator is thrilled by their beauty and 
ponderous power. The ground is wet from the spray 
that falls like rain around the Falls. In the sunlight 






56 THE UNITED STATES AS A WHOLE 


rainbows arch the light green water and white foam. 
The water falling from so great a height goes down 
deep into a pool which it has dug at the foot of the Falls. 
The surface of the pool is so calm that little steamboats 
carry passengers close to the falling water. An electric 
railway patronized by tourists circles the gorge. It 
follows the top of the bank on the Canadian side, and 
returns along the water’s edge on the American side. 

Vessels pass from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario through 
the Welland Canal in Canada. Much less water passes 
over the Falls than formerly, because a large amount is 
drawn off above the Falls to provide power for manu¬ 
facturing. 

Marshy Lakes. The Dismal Swamp lies in Virginia and 
North Carolina. It is about 30 miles long and 10 miles 
wide. Lake Drummond is in the midst of the swamp and 
a canal connecting Chesapeake Bay with Albemarle 
Sound passes through it. The swamp has been partly 
drained. Farther south, in the state of Georgia, Oke- 
fenokee Swamp covers a much larger area. It is drained 
by the St. Mary River. 



D Detroit Publishing Co. 


A cypress swamp. 







RIVERS AND LAKES 


57 


In Florida there is a shallow marshy lake called the 
Everglades. It is about as large as Lake Ontario. It 
is fed by springs, is very shallow, has many low, marshy 
islands, and its waters are filled with tall grasses. Sev¬ 
eral small streams flow out of it to both the Atlantic 





© Detroit Publishing Co. 

Everglades and drainage canal, Florida. 


Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. Much of it is being 
reclaimed by drainage canals. 

The principal lagoon along the Gulf of Mexico is Lake 
Pontchartrain near New Orleans. It is a landlocked 
bay of salt water, connected with the Gulf by a narrow, 
sluggish bayou or pass. 

Salt Lakes. The largest lake in the Cordilleran High¬ 
land is Great Salt Lake, 12 miles from Salt Lake City. 
It receives the drainage from the west slope of the Wa¬ 
satch Mountains. Ages ago an immense lake covered 
this region to a depth of 1,000 feet. It gradually evap¬ 
orated, leaving marks of its former size on the shore 
lines which can be traced high up the mountain sides. 



58 THE UNITED STATES AS A WHOLE 


Great Salt Lake and a few smaller lakes contain what is 
left of Lake Bonneville, as this ancient lake has been 
called. Great Salt Lake has no outlet. There is an 



Great Salt Lake, Utah. 


abundance of salt and similar minerals in the earth, and 
large quantities of it are dissolved by the streams and 
washed into Great Salt Lake, which is consequently filled 
not with fresh water but with strong brine. The human 
body cannot sink in it, and bathers find sport in trying 
to immerse themselves. 

There are smaller lakes scattered throughout the 
Great Basin, all of them resembling Great Salt Lake. 
They receive the waters of streams that cannot make 
their way to the ocean, and they are usually so salt that 
even cattle cannot drink from them. Some streams grad¬ 
ually evaporate and end in “sinks,’’ so called because 
the water appears to sink into the ground. Some lakes 
partly dry up and form mud lakes. Others evaporate 







BIVEBS AND LAKES 


59 


entirely, sometimes leaving a white, glistening crust of 
salt, borax, soda, and other minerals. Among the larger 
lakes of the Great Basin are Humboldt Lake, Carson 
Lake, Walker Lake, and Pyramid Lake. 

Devil Lake, in North Dakota, is a salt lake. It receives 
the drainage of a small basin between the tributaries 
of the Missouri Biver and those of the Nelson-Saskatche- 
wan Biver. 

Tulare Lake, in California, like a few other lakes, re¬ 
ceives tributaries from the Sierra Nevada. It has no 
outlet, except in the rainy season, when it overflows into 
the San Joaquin Biver. 

Mountain Lakes. Lake Tahoe is on the boundary be¬ 
tween California and Nevada. It is 6,000 feet high on 
the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada amid picturesque 
scenery, and is over 1,600 feet deep. Yellowstone Lake, 
in the Yellowstone National Park, is another beautiful 
mountain lake. 

Crater Lake is a small lake in the Cascade Mountains 



Lake Tahoe. 






60 THE UNITED STATES AS A WHOLE 


in Oregon. It fills the crater of an extinct volcano. The 
crater caved in, leaving the mountain sides rising 2,000 
feet above the lake, whose depth is about equal to the 
surrounding precipices. It has no outlet and never 
freezes, yet the water is fresh. In the same section are 
the beautiful Klamath Lakes, named for the Indian tribe 
that lives near them. These lakes are drained by the 
Klamath River, which flows into the Pacific Ocean. 

Questions 

1. Which of the Great Lakes is farthest north? 
Which is farthest west? Which farthest east? Which 
extends farthest south? 

2. Which state is divided into two parts by one of the 
Great Lakes? By which lake is it divided? Which other 
lakes wash the shores of this state? 

3. What other states are bordered by more than one 
lake? Which are the lakes? 

4. Between which river systems is Devil Lake ? 

5. Which rises farther north, the Mississippi River 
or the Red River of the North? 

6. How far is Lake Itasca from the northern boun¬ 
dary of the United States? 

7. In which part of the Great Basin is Great Salt 
Lake? Why is the water salt? 

8. In what direction does the Humboldt River flow? 

Exercise 

Sketch from memory a map of the Great Lakes and 
mark the names of the waters which connect them. Lo¬ 
cate Duluth, Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland, and Buffalo. 


CHAPTER IV 


CLIMATE 

The Gulf Coast of the United States is more than a 
thousand miles nearer the Equator and the Torrid Zone 
than are the Great Lakes. Consequently the Gulf coast 
is much the warmer. Climate varies greatly with eleva¬ 
tion. On the slopes of high mountains in the Western 
States one may in a few hours climb from meadows and 
forests to snowy summits resembling the Polar regions. 
The central part of our country is more than 1,500 miles 




G2 THE UNITED STATES AS A WHOLE 


from either ocean. On this account the interior has less 
rain than the coasts. 

These differences in latitude, elevation, and distance 
from the sea cause the chief differences in our climate. 

The climate of any place is the customary state of its 
atmosphere. Weather is the condition of the air at any 
given time or for a short period of time. Weather 



Skating scene on the Brandywine, Wilmington, Delaware. 


changes from day to day, whereas climate is much more 
permanent. 

The United States enjoys a temperate climate because 
it is in the North Temperate Zone. The northern part 
is in the very middle of the North Temperate Zone, and 
has the cool and bracing atmosphere of that latitude. 
The southern part is warm. Florida and the southern 
edge of the Gulf Coast Plain, and the southern part of 
California, Arizona, and New Mexico have a climate that 
is subtropical or nearly tropical. Such a climate permits 
the growth of oranges, pineaples, sugar cane, and palms. 

Seasons. As the earth revolves around the sun, on its 
journey from winter to summer, the Northern Hemis- 





CLIMATE 


63 


phere gradually leans more and more toward the sun, 
and the sun appears to mount higher and higher in the 
sky. The days grow longer and the nights shorter, and 
the weather becomes warmer with the lengthening days. 
Thus the change from winter to spring, and from spring 
to summer is accomplished. Later in the year the 
Northern Hemisphere leans more and more away from 
the sun. The days shorten and grow colder; summer 
passes into fall, and fall into winter. When it is 
winter in the North Temperate Zone it is summer in 
the South Temperate Zone. December, January and 
February are our winter months. It is then summer in 
the South Temperate Zone. March, April, and May are 
the spring months in the Northern and the fall months 
in the Southern Hemisphere. In June, July, and August 
it is summer here and winter south of the Equator. Sep¬ 
tember, October, and November are the fall months in 
the North Temperate Zone. In the South Temperate 
Zone they are the spring months. 

The seasons are not well marked along the Gulf of 
Mexico nor along the Pacific coast. Throughout these 
regions even the winters are warm. In most parts of the 
country, however, the seasons are distinct and each has 
its peculiar advantage and beauty. Winter has deep 
snows, frozen streams, coasting, sleighing, and skating, 
short days, and clear, starry nights. Spring brings 
new grass and flowers, budding trees, returning birds, 
and blue skies with billowy white clouds; it is the sea¬ 
son for planting. Summer is a time of long days and 
outdoor life, of baseball, of thunder and lightning and 
rainbows. Autumn is the season of harvests and hunt¬ 
ing, when the landscape glows with the rich colors of 
the frost-painted foliage. 

Winds. Winds have much to do with climate. They 
carry warmth and moisture from one region to another. 























































CLIMATE 


65 


Warm air is lighter than cold air. The heavier cold air 
pushes the warm air out of the way, so that it rises. 
Wind is the horizontal movement of the air. Where the 
air is rising there is no wind. Absence of wind is a calm. 
The air above the Equator is so hot that it rises. Hence 
the Equator is a region of calms. Cooler air blows 
constantly toward the Equator from the northeast and 
southeast. This moving air is called the trade winds. 
They are the steadiest winds that blow. In the Northern 
Hemisphere they blow from the northeast toward the 
southwest and are called the northeast trades. In the 
Southern Hemisphere they blow from the southeast 
toward the northwest and are called the southeast trades. 
They are the winds upon which seamen chiefly relied in 
the days of sailing ships. The northeast trades wafted 
Columbus across the Atlantic Ocean. 

North of the northeast trades is a belt of winds blow¬ 
ing from southwest to northeast. They are called the 
prevailing westerlies or westerlies. In the Southern 
Hemisphere there are similar westerlies blowing from 
northwest to southeast. Between the trade wind belt 
and the prevailing westerlies in each hemisphere is a 
belt of calms called the tropical calms. In these belts 
the air is descending. Very little rain falls in these 
belts of tropical calms. 

The wind belts move north and south according to the 
season. When it is summer in the North Temperate 
Zone, the belts of winds and calms swing northward. 
On the other hand, when it is winter in the North Tem¬ 
perate Zone and summer in the South Temperate Zone, 
these belts move farther south. 

Cyclones. In the westerlies, as they blow from west to 
east across the United States, there are great whirls of 
air moving toward a center of low pressure, called 
a low. At the low the air is rising, and toward this 


66 THE UNITED STATES AS A WHOLE 


center the winds whirl in from every direction for 
hundreds of miles around. Such a whirling movement 
of air is called a cyclone or cyclonic storm. Cyclones 
usually bring warm, rainy weather. 

A cyclone does not stand still but moves forward in an 
easterly direction. A storm that appears on the Pacific 
coast may reach the Mississippi Valley in a day or two, 
and in one or two days more it may pass to the 
Atlantic coast. 

So extensive is the territory covered by a cyclonic 
storm that no one can see it as a whole. People, houses, 
cities, forests, and mountains are in comparison no larger 
than the insects, grass, and stones above which circle 
the little whirling dust storms of the wayside. At 
whatever point the cyclonic storms start, or whatever 
irregular course they take, they usually leave the United 
States between Long Island and the mouth of the St. 
Lawrence River. They pass out over the Atlantic, and 
sometimes, after a week or more, reach western Europe. 

• A cyclone is followed by an anticyclone, which is a 
mass of air whirling outward from a center of high 
pressure, called a high. An anticyclone usually brings 
cool, clear weather. Our cold waves are very cold 
anticyclones. 

Climate of the Pacific Coast. The Pacific coast has an 
oceanic climate. Oceanic climate is such a climate as is 
found in islands and in regions bordering the ocean 
where the winds blow from the sea. 

Water heats and cools more slowly than land. There¬ 
fore, in summer the sea is cooler than the land, whereas 
in winter the sea is warmer than the land. Water thus 
moderates the climate of the land near it, especially 
when the wind blows from the sea to the land. The 
westerlies blow from the Pacific Ocean toward the United 
States. They give the Pacific coast the most temperate 


CLIMATE 


G7 



Rhododendrons, Washington. 


climate in our country. Portland, Oregon, is farther 
north than Minneapolis on the Mississippi River in 
Minnesota, and much farther north than* Portland, 
Maine; yet the latter cities have severe winters, while 
in Portland, Oregon, the flowers bloom the year round. 

The moist westerlies blow upward over the western 
slopes of the Coast Ranges, and some of their vapor is 
condensed to rain. So plentiful is the moisture which 
the westerlies carry, that when they come to the still 
higher Cascade Mountains and Sierra Nevada, they still 
have plenty of moisture, which is condensed to rain or 
snow upon the western slopes. 

There are but two seasons along the Pacific coast, the 
rainy season during the winter, and the dry season in 
summer. The coast of Washington and Oregon has the 
most copious rainfall in North America. It is about 
three times as great as the average (30 inches a year) 
which falls throughout the United States as a whole. In 
southern California the annual rainfall is low, because 



68 THE UNITED STATES AS A WHOLE 



tropical calms extend as far north as this region in 
summer. 

Climate of the Interior. Far removed from the moderating 
influence of the oceans, the interior of the United States 
has very hot summers and bitter cold winters. In many 
parts of the Great Central Plain the winter temperature 
reaches 40° below zero and the summer heat rises to 90° 
or 100°, in the shade. North Dakota is the coldest section 
of the United States in winter, the temperature sometimes 
falling to 54° below zero; yet in summer the thermometer 
in North Dakota sometimes registers as high as 110°. 
The hottest part of the United States is in southwestern 
Arizona, where the temperature has risen to 119°. 

Another feature of the climate of the interior of our 
country is the dryness of the air. Because of this low 
humidity, the extreme heat and cold can be borne with 
little discomfort. The westerlies lose most of their mois¬ 
ture in crossing the mountain ranges of the Cordilleran 
Highland. There are therefore few fogs and little damp¬ 
ness. The sun shines almost every day in many sections; 















CLIMATE 


69 


yet sunstrokes are less common than in a region where 
the humidity is greater, though the heat there is less. 

A climate like that of the interior of the United States 
is called a continental climate. Such a climate prevails 
in the central portions of the continents. The great dif¬ 
ference in temperature between summer and winter upon 
the Great Central Plain is due partly to the absence of 
mountains extending east and west. There is no obstruc¬ 
tion in winter to the cold waves which occasionally blow 
far south into the Mississippi valley, causing frosts 
which damage the fruit crop sometimes as far as Florida. 

Climate of the Atlantic Coast. The effects of the con¬ 
tinental interior are felt even along the Atlantic coast, 
because the prevailing westerlies, blowing across the 
land, bring a continental climate to the eastern coast of 
the United States, and counteract, to some extent, the 
influence of the Atlantic Ocean. 

Storms. In winter the interior of the United States is 
subject to severe and very cold snowstorms, called bliz- 



Cutting ice on the Mississippi, Minnesota. 





70 THE UNITED STATES AS A WHOLE 



l R. E. Fountain 

A tornado cloud. 


zards. They are accompanied by high winds, and ani¬ 
mals as well as human beings sometimes become be¬ 
wildered in the driving storms, and wander about until 
they fall exhausted and perish in the snow. 

Sometimes a small and severe storm, called a tornado, 
occurs in the Central Plain, especially in the states west 
of the Mississippi River. These storms unroof and de¬ 
molish houses, barns, and other buildings, causing the 
loss of lives. They do great damage to crops. The peo¬ 
ple in that region build “cyclone cellars” in which they 
hide until the tornado has passed. Severe summer hail 
storms, accompanied by thunder and lightning, some¬ 
times cause damage. The Atlantic and Gulf coasts are 
occasionally visited by hurricanes. These severe storms 
sweep northward from the West Indies, destroying 
property on land and causing disasters to ships at sea. 

Rainfall. The eastern slopes of the Sierra Nevada and 
Cascade Mountains, the Great Basin, and the Columbia 
and Colorado plateaus, have little rain. The air has 
lost most of its moisture before it reaches these regions. 
In the Great Basin the sky is clear nearly every day in 




CLIMATE 


71 


the year. Some sections, as the Mohave Desert in Cali¬ 
fornia and the Great American Desert, near Great Salt 
Lake, are true deserts. These are the driest parts of 
the United States. Here the sandy wastes are exces¬ 
sively hot during the day, but cool so rapidly after the 
sun sets that the nights are always cold. 

The air through the Cordilleran Highland is so dry 
that there is little haze in the air, so that distant objects 
appear to be very near. 

The Great Central Plain would be almost as rainless 
a.ud barren as the Great Basin if it depended solely upon 
the moisture brought by the westerlies from the Pacific 
Ocean. The cyclones draw in moisture from the Gulf of 
Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. The section west of the 
middle line of Kansas and Nebraska is farthest from 
these sources of rain, and is too dry for the ordinary 
methods of agriculture. 

Due to the cyclonic winds that bring in moisture from 
the Atlantic and the Gulf, the eastern part of the United 
States is well watered. 



Effects of a tornado, Louisville, Kentucky. 







The Gulf coast and the Southern Appalachians have 
a very heavy rainfall, exceeded only by that of western 
Washington and Oregon. 


Health Resorts. Some parts of the United States have 
certain climatic advantages that make them sought by 
invalids. The pine forests of the Adirondacks, of Maine, 
New Jersey, and North Carolina contribute to the purity 
of the air. Sufferers from pulmonary diseases go to the 
dry air of Arizona, New Mexico, and Colorado. Many 
persons visit the seaside resorts for the salt air. 

United States Weather Bureau. The advantages of know¬ 
ing beforehand what the weather will be have led to the 
establishment of the United States Weather Bureau. 
Hundreds of observers scattered throughout the coun¬ 
try report every day by telegraph or telephone what 
the weather is at their stations. They report the tem¬ 
perature, direction and velocity of the winds, humid¬ 
ity, cloudiness, number of inches of rainfall, and other 
facts. From these reports the officials of the Weather 
Bureau forecast or predict the probable weather for 















CLIMATE 


73 


every part of the country for the next day or two. 
Within a few hours after the reports are received, the 
predictions are printed, maps made and sent out. Flags 
and notices are put up in many cities. Along the coasts 
of the Great Lakes and both oceans, weather signals are 
displayed from steel towers erected for the purpose. 
The weather predictions are broadcasted daily by radio. 
The forecasts enable farmers to plan successfully their 
work, from day to day. In fruit-growing sections, many 



Desert of Utah. 


orchards are equipped with heaters that can be used to 
warm the air near the fruit trees and thus prevent frosts 
from killing the blossoms. To the owners of these 
orchards, frost predictions of the Weather Bureau are 
of great value. Bailroads, especially in winter, use 
the forecasts in determining the size of freight trains. 
Forecasts also tell of storms and floods which might 
damage property, and seamen are often saved from 
shipwreck by remaining in port and avoiding disastrous 








74 THE UNITED STATES AS A WHOLE 



Battleship Vermont in a heavy sea. 


storms. By means of wireless messages, reports of the 
weather at sea are sent from vessel to vessel. 


Questions 

1. How does latitude affect climate? How does eleva¬ 
tion affect it? Distance from the sea? 

2. How does climate differ from weather? 

3. What is the direction of the prevailing wind in 
your locality? 

4. Which parts of the United States have a sub¬ 
tropical climate? 

5. Where is the hottest part of the United States? 
Which section has the heaviest rainfall? 

6. What is a low ? A high ? A tornado ? A cyclone ? 

Exercise 

Name the three types of climate. Describe each. 
Tell where each prevails in the United States. 





CHAPTER V 

PEOPLE 

Population. More than a hundred million people live 
under the Stars and Stripes. Most of them belong to the 
Caucasian or white race; most of them were born in the 
United States; and nearly all of them speak English. The 
inhabitants of our country are counted every ten years. 
This count is called a census. 

Immigration. The ancestors of the white people in the 
United States came from Europe. For more than three 
hundred years strong and ambitious Europeans have 
been coming to our country, seeking freedom and for¬ 
tune in the New World. They are called immigrants. 
Until recently most of them came from England, Ireland, 
Scotland, Germany, Sweden, and Norway. They have 





76 THE UNITED STATES AS A WHOLE 


all helped to make our country great. Of late many immi¬ 
grants have come from Italy and other countries of south¬ 
ern Europe, and from central and eastern Europe. Many 
Jews have come from Russia to escape persecution. 

Most immigrants land at New York. From there some 
go to many parts of our country, furnishing workmen 
for our farms, forests, factories, and mines. Others re¬ 
main in the cities along the Atlantic coast. Although 
speaking different languages at home the immigrants 
soon learn English and become patriotic Americans. 

The South and some of the western states have few 
immigrants, but in other sections they are numerous. 
The English, Scotch, Germans, Swedes, and Norwegians 
generally settle in farming districts. Most of the people 
from southern Europe settle in towns and cities, work¬ 
ing in mines and factories. In the southwest, along the 
Mexican border, are Mexicans who speak Spanish, and 
in the northeast, near the St. Lawrence River, as well as 
in the cotton, woolen, shoe, and rubber mills of New Eng¬ 
land, are French Canadians who have immigrated from 
Canada. 

There are about 175,000 Mongolians or people of the 
yellow race in the United States, chiefly Chinese and 
Japanese. They enter our Pacific ports, and most of 
them stay in California and other western states, where 
they are employed in farming, domestic service, or at 
common labor. Chinese laundrymen are found in many 
cities. The United States has forbidden the immigra¬ 
tion of any more Chinese. In San Francisco and New 
York the part of the city where the Chinese live is called 
“Chinatown.” Most of the Japanese in the United 
States are engaged in trade. In the northwest there are 
a few Hindus from Asia. No paupers, anarchists, crim¬ 
inals, or persons suffering from contagious disease are 
admitted as immigrants to our shores. 


PEOPLE 


77 


Negroes. There are about eleven million negroes in the 
United States. Most of them are descended from slaves 
brought from Africa to the plantations of the South. 
After the Civil War all slaves were set free. Most of 
the negroes still live in the Southern states. At Hamp¬ 
ton in Virginia, Tuskegee in Alabama, and elsewhere, 
there are schools where trades and farming are taught. 
Many are educated, and our negro population includes 
prosperous farmers, mechanics, physicians, lawyers, 
teachers, and merchants. 

Indians. The Indians were the original inhabitants of 
the United States. When the white men came the In¬ 
dians were driven ever farther west, often fighting 
fiercely to protect their hunting grounds from the pio¬ 
neers who wanted them for farms. They left behind 



Zuni Pueblo, New Mexico. 





78 THE UNITED STATES AS A WHOLE 




only their names, which have been applied to many 
states, cities, rivers, and other features in the United 
States. 

There are about a quarter million Indians in the 
United States. Iroquois Indians live at Niagara Falls 
and elsewhere in New York state, and in Maine; Chippe- 
was near Lake Superior; Cherokees in North Carolina; 
and Seminoles in Florida. Most of the Indians, however, 
are west of the Mississippi Eiver. In the southwestern 
United States the Zuni and Moki Indians live in great 
tenement houses, or pueblos, of adobe or sun-dried clay. 
In the walls of canyons which lead into the canyon of the 
Colorado Eiver are the caves and huts of the cliff 
dwellers. All have been abandoned. 

The older Indians are but partly civilized. They de¬ 
pend partly upon the United States to give them food 
and clothing. Among the Navajos, who have large 
flocks of sheep, the women weave handsome rugs and 



Cliff dwellings, Colorado. 




PEOPLE 


79 


blankets. The young men and women among the Indians 
have often been educated at such schools as Hampton, 
Virginia, or Carlisle, Pennsylvania. The young men are 
often fine athletes. When they return to their homes 
they become thrifty farmers and mechanics. In Oklahoma 
especially, there are fine farms owned by such Indians. 
On some of the reservations valuable oil wells have brought 
much wealth to the tribes that own the land. 

Wealth. The United States is the richest country in 
the world. Our people have better homes and more lux¬ 
uries than people in similar stations in most of the other 
countries. The wages here are higher than in Europe, 
and that attracts many laborers and artisans. The cost 
of living is higher, partly because Americans live better. 
Eent, food, clothing are more expensive; and merchants, 
farmers, and manufacturers receive more for their wares 
and products than in foreign countries. 

Houses. The houses differ according to locality as well 
as taste and wealth. Many persons own their homes; 
others rent them. The latter are called tenants. Houses 
are chiefly built of wood and are called frame houses. 
Many houses are built of brick or stone. In the South¬ 
west some houses are built of adobe or sun-dried brick. 
Some are small and humble, containing but a few rooms, 
others are great mansions, resembling the palaces of the 
Old World in cost, size, and beauty. Out in the country 
houses are far apart, and in the far West, on the great 
cattle farms, called ranches, neighbors often live many 
miles apart. In some of the northern states the house, 
sheds, and barns are sometimes joined in one long line 
of buildings so that the farmer can easily attend to the 
horses and cattle when the snows of winter drift high. 
In all parts of the country the barns where cattle are 
sheltered and harvests stored are huge buildings, much 
larger than the house of the farmer. 


80 THE UNITED STATES AS A WHOLE 


In cities, houses are sometimes built in long rows, side 
by side, to save land, which is very valuable. In other 
cities, where land is still more expensive, tall buildings 
called apartment houses are built from five to twenty 
stories high. Here several families often live on each 
floor, the rooms where a family lives being called a flat 



Fifth Avenue and St. Patrick’s Cathedral, New York. 


or apartment. The highest buildings have elevators. 
Besides the residence where they spend most of the year, 
many persons have summer cottages, bungalows, or 
camps located in the mountains or by the sea, where they 
spend the warm summer months. There are also fine 
estates of great size, and wealthy families may have win¬ 
ter homes in Florida or southern California. 

Keligion. Christianity is the prevailing religion in the 
United States. Christians believe in both the Old and 
New Testaments and most of them observe Sunday as a 








PEOPLE 


81 


day for rest and worship. In addition to the Roman 
Catholics there are many Protestant denominations, such 
as the Methodist Episcopal, Baptist, Presbyterian, Con¬ 
gregational, Lutheran, Episcopal, and others. Churches 
are among the finest buildings in our country. The mis¬ 
sions of California are among our oldest structures. 
St. Patrick’s Cathedral and the Cathedral of St. John 
the Divine, both in New York, and Trinity Church, 
Boston, are among the finest of our modern buildings. 
Our country enjoys religious freedom, and people of 
every faith may worship according to their own religion. 

Jews or Hebrews are numerous in the United States. 
Their Bible contains only the Old Testament and their 
places of worship are called synagogues. 

Schools. No country gives greater attention to educa¬ 
tion than the United States. Every state has free schools 
for its children. In some places schoolbooks and sta¬ 
tionery are free. 

There are many colleges and universities in the United 
States. Some of the leading institutions are Harvard, 
at Cambridge, Massachusetts; Yale, at New Haven, Con¬ 
necticut ; Columbia, in the city of New York; Princeton, at 
Princeton, New Jersey; University of Pennsylvania, at 
Philadelphia; University of Chicago, at Chicago; Cath¬ 
olic University of America, at Washington, D. C.; Johns 
Hopkins, at Baltimore; Cornell, at Ithaca, New York; 
University of California, at Berkeley; Leland Stanford, 
at Palo Alto, California; and Vanderbilt University, at 
Nashville, Tennessee. Most of these colleges admit 
women as students. The United States has two great 
government colleges,—the Military Academy, at West 
Point, New York, where young men are trained as officers 
for the Army; and the Naval Academy, at Annapolis, 
Maryland, where the officers who command the ships of 
our Navy are educated. Many states have agricultural 


82 THE UNITED STATES AS A WHOLE 



Barnard College, Columbia University, New York. 


colleges, where farming is taught, and normal schools, 
where teachers are trained. Among the leading women’s 
colleges are Vassar, at Poughkeepsie, New York; Smith 
College, at Northampton, Massachusetts; Barnard, at 
New York; Bryn Mawr, at Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania; 
and Wellesley, at Wellesley, Massachusetts. 

National Defense. Our country has a great navy of 
battleships and other vessels to protect our coasts and our 
possessions beyond the seas in case of war. It ranks next 
to the navy of England. Our regular army is much smaller 
than that of any other important country, but when the 
United States entered the World War more than 4,000,000 
young Americans were quickly fitted for battle and proved 
themselves the equals of any soldiers in the world. The 
United States, however, is a peaceful nation. It prefers to 
depend for protection upon its just treatment of other coun¬ 
tries and upon its secure position in the heart of North 
America, separated from the great nations of Europe and 
Asia by the oceans which guard our coasts both east and 
west. Our American neighbors are Mexico and Canada. 





PEOPLE 


83 


The latter is a peaceful nation like our own. Mexico, 
though warlike, is much smaller. 

Newspapers and Books. About one-half the newspapers 
in the world are printed in the United States. The 
number of papers printed in the United States is about 
16,000. They include daily papers as well as weekly 
papers. In the very large cities an edition giving the 
very latest news is printed every hour, or even oftener. 
The great papers furnish news to the towns, villages, and 
farms near the large cities where they are published. 
Some papers are printed in foreign languages, hut most 
are in English, because our foreign-born citizens are able 
to read English, even though they may not have learned 
our language until after they came to this country. 
Many magazines are issued; and thousands of new books 
are published every year. The United States has many 
great libraries. The largest is the Library of Congress 
at Washington, D. C., w T ith almost 2,000,000 volumes. 



Battleship New Hampshire firing a broadside. 





84 THE UNITED STATES AS A WHOLE 


The great colleges and universities have large libraries. 
Every city of importance, and many small villages, have 
public libraries. Andrew Carnegie has helped found 
many libraries. Some of the large cities support mu¬ 
seums and art galleries. The former contain collections 
of historic or scientific material; the latter, paintings 
and sculptures. 



A baseball game. 


Recreations. Our people take time for wholesome 
amusements. Baseball is our national game. Much at¬ 
tention is given to athletics. Relay races and long dis¬ 
tance races, such as the marathon, are popular. So is 
football in the fall; and skating, sleighing, and tobog¬ 
ganing in winter. In summer bathing is enjoyed in all 
sections of the country. Golf, tennis, polo, hockey, and 
basket ball are sports in which many engage. Theatres 
are found in the larger towns and cities; and motion 
pictures are exhibited throughout the country. Thou- 





© Underwood & Underwood 


PEOPLE 


Spectators at the Hippodrome, New York. 

sands of boys belong to the Boy Scouts of America and 
receive splendid training. The Camp Fire Girls and Girl 
Scouts are similar organizations for girls. 

The American People. No other country in North or 
South America has so many people or is as important 
as ours. For this reason we are called Americans. 
Americans are great travelers and may be found in 
every part of the globe. American tourists go through 



Boy Scouts in camp. 














86 THE UNITED STATES AS A WHOLE 


Europe every summer and are welcomed by hotels and 
merchants for their liberality. Americans are energetic 
and self-reliant. They are skillful workmen, many are 
inventors and many others are great leaders in manu¬ 
facturing and commerce. Our history is a record, in the 
main, of a successful struggle to organize a form of gov¬ 
ernment that gives freedom and justice to all its citizens. 
The greatest names in American history are George 
Washington and Abraham Lincoln. 

Distribution of Population. The northeastern part of the 
United States is the most densely settled quarter of our 
country. In this section are the great manufacturing and 
commercial centers. The western half of the United 
States, except the belt along the Pacific, is sparsely set¬ 
tled. The six states having the greatest density of popu¬ 
lation are Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Con¬ 
necticut, New York, and Pennsylvania. The six states 
lowest in density of population are Nevada, Wyoming, 
Arizona, New Mexico, Montana, and Idaho. This map 
shows the density by states and by counties. 



Distribution of population in the United States. 





PEOPLE 87 

Questions 

(Turn to the Tables, pages xi, xv.) 

1. What is the population of the main body of the 
United States? Of the outlying possessions? What is 
the total population? 

2. What part of the people in the Western Hemis¬ 
phere live in the United States? 

3. To which race do the white,people belong? 

4. How does the number of negroes compare with 
the population of our three largest cities? With our 
most populous state? 

5. Hoes living in a foreign quarter help or hinder 
an immigrant in becoming an American? Why? 

Exercises 

Compare the area and population of the United States 
with the area and population of Europe; of Canada. 

Name all the Indian tribes you can. Name five large 
cities that bear Indian names. 

Make a list of states that have Indian names. Make 
similar lists of rivers, lakes, and mountains. 



pi hi a , 




•flTTo ^ 8 


‘■wwi.jf, 


Pieire 


Denver, 


[Qnaas 


■■ >. 


Oklah< 


Cana(i x< * 


Wheat 


Antonio 


Cotton 


Tobacco 


Coal Fields 


Iron Mines 


Petroleum 


Silver and Lead 


Copper 

Principal Manufacturing Centers 
Fisheries 


I.L. POATES 'ENGB’S CO., N.Y. 


Longitude 


West 


>/ y a k 

¥\ r 


\Siou5 

N-vE B R 

A S 

• 


























































































Hudson 


Lake of 
*£the Woods 


Duluth 1 


Mr 

v’cw York^ 

eiv Vorkr^tfcui 


Madison ^ 




■adeiphia 


UOO H >0;^ 
o < Op 0 iumhd!L 

upVis’. -® ® \ O. 

>?r\VrauVU«j 


3» lU !| 


§ Richmond^ 


< 

.ansae 


Wit] 


f W^JashviUe #" 

[n n e. s 


gavaun 1 


;omery, 


.cksonv, 


Baton! 
• Rouin 




StAot« 

-Vn V_-/u^ oB 
h KXV ^ 
oWtnVy 

>u ^y 

'SCS’vteeton 


<*>* 

u:- c 


c «t 0f r^ 




kI Xv.. 


w * 

Key West *•'” 


PRODUCTION - MAP 

OE THE 

UNITED STATES 

SCALE OF MILES 


3 '--. 


tropic of CANCER 

-Havana 

yc' 




100 


Greenwich 


r 


89 


























































CHAPTER VI 


MINEKALS 

Coal, iron, and limestone have helped to make the 
United States the chief manufacturing country in the 
world. These three minerals are found mostly in the 
eastern half of our country. The Cordilleran Highland 
has extensive deposits of gold, silver, copper, and other 
metals. Building stone, petroleum, natural gas, clay, 
sand, salt, and other minerals are widely distributed. 

Coal. Most of our coal is mined in Pennsylvania, 
West Virginia, Illinois, Ohio, Indiana, and Alabama. 
Some coal is found in more than half of the states. 

Beneath the surface of many bogs and marshes is 
found a layer of black vegetable matter, called peat. 
As the plants that grow in these places die and fall be¬ 
neath the water, they do not decay, but slowly change to 
peat. In Ireland and in several other countries peat is 
dug up and used for fuel. Long before the Ice Age, in 
what are now the coal regions, there were extensive 
swamps and bogs. The climate was hot and moist, and 
the vegetation was rank and rapid in growth. Ferns as 
large as trees grew in these low lands. As the plants 
died they settled beneath the water and slowly changed 
into peat. These swampy conditions existed for thou¬ 
sands of years, and the layer of peat grew to great thick¬ 
ness. Then came a sinking of the land and these swamps 
became the floors of shallow seas. Rivers from neigh¬ 
boring lands brought in mud and sand which covered the 
peat. Later, these regions were raised above sea level, 

90 


MINERALS 


91 


f'" 



A coal mine. 


and again plants grew, died, and changed into peat. Thus 
by the alternate sinking and rising of the land, which 
occurred many times, alternate beds of peat and rocky 
sediment were formed. In the course of untold centuries, 
the sand, mud, and peat were hardened under pressure 
into layers of rock and seams of coal. Fossils of plants 
and animals are found in the coal and in the slate and 
sandstone between the layers of coal. 

Coal is usually so far underground that a shaft, often 
more than a thousand feet deep, is dug before the layers 
or seams of coal are reached. A place where coal or 
other minerals are taken from the interior of the earth 
is called a mine, and the workmen are called miners. 
Elevators lower the miners down the shaft, or pit, and 
lift them and the coal to the surface. In some mines 
ladders are used. Where the shaft pierces a seam of coal 
small passages, called tunnels, branch off and cross one 
another like the halls or corridors of a tall building. 
Seams of coal are usually from three to ten feet thick. 





# 



92 























MINERALS 


93 



In a coal mine. The drill is worked by compressed air. 


The miners often crouch upon the floor of the tunnel 
working with drill or pick to loosen the coal. 

Props of timber or pillars of coal are left to hold up 
the roof of the tunnel. At the surface the large lumps 
are crushed in a huge machine called a breaker, where 
boys pick the pieces of slate, stones and other impurities 
from the coal as it slides down the breaker. 

The miner’s life is in constant danger from falling 
roofs and walls and from the powder and dynamite 
used in blasting. Every year thousands are injured and 
hundreds are killed in the mines. From the layers of 
rock water flows into the mine. This water is pumped 
out, but sometimes an underground stream floods the 
mine and drowns the miners. There are also dangerous 
gases, called damps, which occasionally cause explosions 
that kill many of the miners. To avoid this, the mines 
are ventilated, and the miners use safety lamps. Some 
mines are lighted by electricity; in others oil lamps or 
candles furnish the only light. 

Coal has largely taken the place of wood as a fuel and 



94 THE UNITED STATES AS A WHOLE 


of water power in manufacturing. Most of our ma¬ 
chinery could not be made or used without coal. Coal 
warms our buildings, cooks our food, provides power for 
the trains and steamboats on which we travel, and in¬ 
directly makes it possible for millions of people to make 
a living. Electricity is taking the place of coal for some 
purposes, but coal is still needed to generate electricity, 
except where there is much water power. 

There are two kinds of coal,—hard or anthracite coal 
and soft or bituminous coal. Almost all the anthracite 
coal is mined in Pennsylvania. It gives but little smoke 
or soot when burned, and is preferred for residences. 
The principal anthracite mines are in eastern Pennsyl¬ 
vania, near Wilkes-Barre, Scranton, and Pottsville. Soft 
coal is more plentiful than hard coal. The bituminous 
mines of Pennsylvania are near Pittsburgh, Johnstown, 
and Connellsville. 

In the West the chief coal mines are in Colorado, 
Washington, and Wyoming. 

Graphite. Coal is well called “black diamond,” not 
only because of its importance, but because it is mainly 
carbon. Diamonds are pure carbon. Another form of 
pure carbon is called graphite. It is black, shiny, and 
very soft; and is used for lead pencils, lubricants, and 
crucibles. 

Petroleum. Near the coal fields of western Pennsyl¬ 
vania, Oklahoma, West Virginia, Ohio, and Indiana, as 
well as in Texas, California, Kansas, and other states, 
are strata of porous rock containing a mineral oil, called 
petroleum (petra means rock; oleum means oil). Oil 
wells are bored or drilled like artesian wells, and vary in 
depth from 300 to more than 3,500 feet. The oil spouts 
out of some wells; from others it is pumped up. It is 
stored in large tanks. 

Crude oil is yellow or dark brown, and has an offensive 


MINERALS 


95 


odor when it comes from the ground. Many products 
are made by refining or purifying it. The commonest is 
kerosene oil, widely used for light and fuel. Other prod¬ 
ucts are gasoline, used for engines; benzine, used by 
painters; vaseline, a salve; paraffin, a white wax; and 



A spouting oil well. 


lubricating oils. Illuminating gas is sometimes made 
from petroleum. Many locomotives and marine engines 
burn crude oil. Crude oil and petroleum asphalts are 
used for roads and roofs. 

Oklahoma, California, and Texas are the leading petro¬ 
leum states, and produce more than two thirds of the 
entire yield of the United States. 

Crude oil is pumped for thousands of miles through 
pipe lines which extend from the oil fields of eastern 
Kansas to Chicago, Illinois, and from there through the 
oil regions of Ohio, Indiana, West Virginia, and Pennsyl¬ 
vania to the huge oil refineries at Bayonne, New Jersey, 






96 


THE UNITED STATES AS A WHOLE 


and other places along the Atlantic coast. The pipes are 
mostly underground, but in some places they lie un¬ 
covered along the surface. The oil is forced through the 
pipes from one pumping station to another. There are 
important refineries at Kansas City, Chicago, San Fran¬ 
cisco, Los Angeles, Cleveland, Buffalo, Parkersburg, and 
other cities near the oil fields. Other refineries are near 
New York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore, ports from 
which the petroleum is readily shipped, as refined oil, in 
tank cars on the railroads, in tank wagons along the 
streets and roads, and in tank steamers across the At¬ 
lantic and Pacific oceans to every part of the world. 

The United States produces more petroleum than any 
other country in the world. 

Natural Gas. In the coal and oil regions of Pennsyl¬ 
vania, Ohio, Indiana, and other states there are wells of 
natural gas. Pipes are laid from the wells, as from a 
gas works, to houses and factories. Pittsburgh, Buffalo, 
and other cities are thus supplied. The gas is used 
for lighting, for heating, and for manufacturing. 

Questions 

1. Which are the chief coal states east of the Missis¬ 
sippi? West of the Mississippi? 

2. Which coal states are south of the Ohio? 

3. What is the difference between peat and coal? Be¬ 
tween bituminous coal and anthracite? 

4. Where are the chief mines of anthracite coal? 

5. Which states have great oil fields? Great gas 
fields? What are the chief methods of transporting oil? 

6. What are the chief uses of petroleum? Of natural 
gas? 


Exercises 

Sketch a map of the United States, and shade the prin¬ 
cipal coal regions dark and the oil regions light. 

Make a list of all materials that are used for fuel. 


MINERALS 


97 



An iron mine. The ore is so near the surface that it is dug out with 
steam shovels. 

Metals. The United States has abundant deposits of 
metals. Gold and silver are the two precious metals. 
The United States ranks second in the world in the pro¬ 
duction of each. In the production of iron, copper, lead, 
and aluminum the United States leads the world. 

Iron and Steel. Iron is the commonest, strongest, and 
most useful of all metals. It is usually found mixed with 
clay, quartz, or other minerals. The combined minerals 
are called iron ore. There is some iron ore almost every¬ 
where, coloring the earth yellowish, brownish, or reddish, 
like rusty iron. It is not profitable to mine iron ore, un¬ 
less one quarter of it is iron. 

There are more than 500 iron mines in the United 
States, the most important being near Lake Superior, in 
Minnesota, Michigan, and Wisconsin. The ore in this 
section is easy to mine, is very rich, and can be shipped 
cheaply by way of the Great Lakes. It is loaded at Du¬ 
luth, Superior, and other ports and sent east in summer 




98 THE UNITED STATES AS A WHOLE 



before the lakes freeze and traffic is interrupted. There 
are deposits of iron in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, 
Virginia, Alabama, New York, New Jersey, Washington, 
and several other states. 

The principal iron and steel-making district in the 
United States is in and near Pittsburgh. The best cok¬ 
ing coal comes from Connellsville, near Pittsburgh. On 
this account nearly all of the iron ore is shipped almost 
1,000 miles from the Lake Superior mines. Coke is made 
by baking coal in ovens to drive off the gases. The coke 
which remains is a very pure form of carbon, and is the 
part of coal that gives intense heat. 

It is used to heat the blast furnaces in which iron is 
separated from the other minerals in the ore. Lumps of 
iron ore, limestone, and coke are dumped together into 
the furnace. Great heat is secured by fanning or blow¬ 
ing a strong draft or blast of hot air into the bottom of 
the furnace, and the minerals in the furnace are melted. 
The molten iron collects at the bottom of the furnace 
because it is heavier, and upon it floats the molten slag, 
which is composed of the limestone and the impurities 















MINERALS 


99 





Charging a furnace. 


in the iron ore. The two are separated by drawing off 
first one and then the other through openings at different 
levels. The slag is thrown away, and the iron is cast 
into bars called “pigs.” 

From the pig iron are made innumerable articles of 
iron or steel. Steel is an almost pure form of iron. Steel 
is used for edge tools, drills, armor plate for battleships, 
and other purposes. Steel is also used in the construc¬ 
tion of our great bridges and tall buildings. 

Railroads are dependent upon steel. The rails, loco¬ 
motives, and cars are either entirely or chiefly made of it. 
Almost every workman uses steel tools. The tailor’s 
needle and scissors, the laborer’s spade-and crowbar, the 
farmer’s plow and reaper, the machinist’s lathe and 
other machinery are of steel. The remarkable advance of 
electricity could not have been made without iron because 
the magnets, which are a very important part of elec¬ 
trical apparatus, are made of it. 






100 THE UNITED STATES AS A WHOLE 


But little less important than the Pittsburgh district 
are the iron-making districts along the Great Lakes. The 
iron ore is brought from the Lake Superior mines and 
the coal for coke is brought mainly from the mines of 
Pennsylvania and West Virginia. Chattanooga, Tennes¬ 
see, and Birmingham, Alabama, manufacture iron, using 
southern ore and coal. A considerable amount of iron 
and steel goods is manufactured in the cities of the At¬ 
lantic seaboard. 

Lead. The state of Missouri leads in the production of 
lead in the United States, and Idaho ranks second. Utah 
and Colorado rank next. 

Lead is separated from the ore in smelters, the prin¬ 
cipal centers of the industry being Joplin, Missouri; 
Denver, Pueblo, and Leadville, Colorado; Helena and 
Great Falls, Montana; and Salt Lake City, Utah. 



Mining centers, gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc. 


Lead is a very soft metal, easily melted, and is much 
used by plumbers, whose trade is named from the Latin 





MINERALS 


101 


word plumbum, which means lead. It is used for lining 
sinks and tanks that are to contain acids. Shot and 
bullets are made from it. A mixture of metals is called 
an alloy. Type metal, from which printing type is made, 
is an alloy of lead. Solder, used for fastening pieces of 



©Underwood & Underwood 

Copper on cars, Arizona. 

metal together, is an alloy of lead and tin. A prepara¬ 
tion of lead called white lead is used for making paint. 
People who are employed where lead is used often con¬ 
tract a disease called lead-poisoning. 

Copper. The chief copper mines of the United States 
are in Arizona, Montana, Michigan, Utah, and Nevada. 
In Michigan some copper is found in its native state. 
Even before the discovery of America the Indians mined 
copper in this region and made rude copper implements. 

Copper is so much used for electric wires and cables 
that it ranks next to iron as a useful metal. It is also 
used for roofing, for sheathing the hulls of ships, for 





102 THE UNITED STATES AS A WHOLE 


cooking utensils, and for coins. Preparations of copper 
are used in making blue and green paints and dyes. On 
account of its color it is used to alloy gold, making it 
reddish. Alloyed with other metals it forms brass, 
bronze, gunmetal, and German silver. 

Aluminum. Aluminum, although less important than 
many other metals, is useful because it is very light, yet 
strong and rigid. The mineral from which aluminum is 
chiefly obtained is bauxite. The principal deposits are 
found in Arkansas, Alabama, Georgia, and Tennessee. 
Aluminum is used for making the frames of aeroplanes, 
automobile bodies, parts of boats, cooking utensils, and 
surgical instruments. It is manufactured on a large scale 
in great establishments at Niagara Falls and elsewhere. 

Mercury. Mercury or quicksilver is a liquid metal 
found in an ore called cinnabar. Nearly all the mercury 
mined in the United States comes from California, 
Texas, and Nevada. 

Since mercury will not freeze in the lowest tempera¬ 
tures usually reached in the temperate zone, it is used in 
thermometers. It is also used in barometers, instru¬ 
ments that measure the pressure of the air, and in 
steam gauges, vacuum pumps, electric switches, in den¬ 
tistry, for silvering mirrors, and for making calomel 
and other medicines. The beautiful color called ver¬ 
milion is made from mercury. Cinnabar is used in mak¬ 
ing red or brown paint. 

Zinc. The United States ranks as one of the three chief 
countries in the production of zinc. This metal is found 
in the Ozarks of Missouri, and in Colorado, Montana. 
New Jersey, and other states. It is chiefly used to coat iron, 
to protect it from rusting. Iron so coated is called gal¬ 
vanized iron. Zinc is also used in electric batteries. 

Gold. Gold is one of the precious metals. It is the 
general standard of value, and all our most valuable 


MINERALS 


103 



© Detroit Publishing Co. 


United States Mint, Philadelphia. 


coins are made from it. More than three fourths of the 
gold in the world is nsed as money. Gold is found in many 
of the great mountains of the world. Sometimes it is 
found mixed with sand and gravel in alluvial deposits 
carried down from the mountains. The gold itself may 
he in tiny grains or in lumps like pebbles. The latter are 
called nuggets. The gold now mined in the United States 
is mostly obtained from ore. The mines of California 
and Colorado produce about half of the gold produced 
each year in the United States. The rest comes from 
South Dakota, Nevada, Arizona, Utah, and other states. 
Much gold is also found in Alaska. 

On account of its great value and beauty, gold is made 
into costly jewelry and ornaments. It is very soft and 
tenacious, and can easily be worked into delicate and 
beautiful designs. It can he beaten into sheets thinner 
than paper. This is called gold leaf, and is used in gild¬ 
ing letters and signs, picture frames, furniture, and pot¬ 
tery. By means of electricity other metals can be plated 
with gold. Gold is hardened by mixing it with copper or 



















104 THE UNITED STATES AS A WHOLE 


silver. Tlie amount of gold in tlie alloy is measured by 
karats. Pure gold is 24 karats fine. 18-karat gold has 
18 parts gold and six parts of silver or copper. 

Silver. Silver is another precious metal. It is found 
combined with gold, copper, lead, and other minerals. 
Mexico is the only country that produces more silver 
than the United States, and these two countries furnish 
more than half of the silver in the world. 

In the United States, Nevada, Montana, Utah, Idaho, 
and Colorado are the leading silver states. Nevada has 
some of the richest gold and silver mines in the world. 
Silver is used for coins, table ware, and for plating other 
metals. It is made into jewelry to be plated with gold. 

The purity or fineness of silver is measured in thou¬ 
sandths. Sterling silver is an alloy containing 925 parts 
of silver and 75 parts of copper or other metal. 

Other Metals. Tungsten and vanadium are rare metals 
mined in the western part of the United States. They 
are used in making alloy steel for tools, engine parts, 
and other articles requiring steel of great strength 
or hardness. Tungsten is also used in making the fila¬ 
ments of the tungsten incandescent lamps. Eadium is a 
mysterious metal so valuable that a small fraction of an 
ounce is worth thousands of dollars. It is used in 
surgery and for experimental purposes in laboratories. 
There are large deposits of radium-bearing minerals in 
Colorado. 

Nonmetals. The United States has much mineral wealth 
besides its metals. Coal is the principal non-metallic 
mineral. Limestone is almost indispensable to the 
manufacture of iron and steel. Granite, marble, slate, 
and sandstone are used for buildings. Sand is used for 
buildings and is made into glass. 

Clay. Clay is a rock that has not been completely hard¬ 
ened. Most clays were deposited in still water. The 


MINERALS 


105 



A kaolin mine. 

waters have dried up, leaving beds of clay, usually cov¬ 
ered by other earth. The clay is dug from pits with 
spades or by large steam shovels. There are different 
grades of clay. China clay is white, and is used for mak¬ 
ing pottery. It is so called because such ware was first 
brought from China. The finest white clay is called 
kaolin. It is found in Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and 
several other states. Another kind of clay which resists 
heat is used to line stoves and furnaces. It is called fire 
clay. Common clay is used to make bricks, terra cotta, 
sewer pipe, drain tile, and hollow building blocks. Bricks 
are usually made by machine. The clay is ground, mixed, 
and pressed into bricks. After they are dry they are 
placed into a sort of furnace called a kiln, where they 
are baked or fired. The reddish color of bricks is due to 
the iron in the clay. Brick clay is found in many sec¬ 
tions, especially near Haverstraw and other places along 
the Hudson River, near Philadelphia, and Perth Amboy, 
New Jersey. Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey are the 
three leading states in the production of clay products. 






106 THE UNITED STATES AS A WHOLE 


Building Stone. Stone, sncli as limestone and granite, 
is blasted from great pits called quarries. Marble is 
one of the most valuable building stones. It is often 
white, but may be streaked or colored pink, brown, and 
even black. Rutland and other places in Vermont pro¬ 
duce about half the marble quarried in the United 
States. The deposits extend into Massachusetts and 
Connecticut. Rutland marble is white or blue gray*. 
Some of it is so fine and white that it can be used for 
statuary. Most of it, however, is used for buildings. It 
is taken from the quarries in great blocks, which are 
sawed into slabs. 

Georgia and Tennessee rank next to Vermont in the 
production of marble. Georgia has the finest and 
whitest marble in the United States. The quarries near 
Knoxville, Tennessee, produce beautiful pink marble. 
California, Colorado, and other western states have 
marble quarries, and there are great undeveloped de¬ 
posits in other parts of the Cordilleran region. 



© Detroit Photographic Co. 

Marble quarry, Tennessee. 









MINERALS 


107 



Loading granite on sloops. 

Slate is a fine clay hardened nnder heat and heavy 
pressure. It splits readily into layers. In a few places 
slate is mined like coal, hut it is usually quarried like 
marble and other stone. Blocks of slate are cut from 
the solid rock by machines and split into slabs by wedges. 
Sometimes it is blasted, care being taken not to crack it. 
Then it is split into layers and cut into regular sizes 
for the market. 

Slate is very useful for roofs because it cannot burn, 
and because water and frost do not affect it. Slabs of 
slate are used for paving stones and flooring, for lining 
walls, for billiard tables, electric switchboards, and black¬ 
boards. The chief slate quarries are in Pennsylvania, 
Vermont, Maine, Maryland, Virginia, and New York. 

Granite is one of the hardest and most durable stones. 
It is used for buildings and monuments. There are large 
granite quarries in Vermont, Massachusetts, Maine, New 
Hampshire, California, and several other states. 


■ 














108 THE UNITED STATES AS A WHOLE 


Sandstone is found in many states. The leading sand¬ 
stone states are New York, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. 

Limestone is the most widely distributed of the build¬ 
ing stones. The most valuable limestone for building 
purposes is the Oolitic limestone of Indiana. Limestone 
is crushed for making stone roads, and large amounts are 
used for making lime and cement, and in the manufac¬ 
ture of pig iron. 

Portland Cement. Cement is made from limestone and 
clay. It is used to make cement walks, foundations for 
paved streets, and mortar in buildings. After the 
cement has set it is not affected by fire, frost, or water. 
Entire buildings are made of concrete, which is an ar¬ 
tificial stone made by mixing crushed rock or gravel, 
sand, and cement together. Pennsylvania produces more 
cement than any other state. Other leading states are 
Indiana, New York, California, Kansas, and Illinois. 

Salt. Salt is one of the most useful minerals in the 
world. Men and animals need it with their food. It is 
found almost everywhere in the land as well as in the 
water of the ocean. In places it lies as a crust on the 
surface of the ground, as where salt lakes dry up in the 
Great Desert. Beneath the surface there are layers of 
rock salt thousands of feet thick. They were formed 
ages ago when parts of the sea were enclosed by the 
land, and the water evaporated, leaving layers of salt 
upon which rock and earth were afterwards deposited. 

No other country produces so much salt as does the 
United States. The principal salt works are in New York 
and Michigan. There are deposits also in Ohio, Kansas, 
Louisiana, Wyoming, and other states. In some of these 
states there are wells of natural brine. In Utah salt is 
made by evaporating the water of Great Salt Lake. 
Where the salt is in layers far below the surface, water 
is allowed to flow upon the salt and dissolve it. The brine 


MINERALS 


109 


thus made is pumped to the surface. The water is then 
boiled off in iron pans and crystals of salt are left. Fine 
grades of salt are used for table and dairy purposes, and 
the coarser grades are used for feeding cattle, and salt¬ 
ing fish, pork, beef, and other meats. 

Sulphur. Sulphur or brimstone is a yellow substance. 
It is used for bleaching, as a medicine, in making 
matches, and it is burned to disinfect houses by its fumes. 

Texas and Louisiana have the largest known deposits 
of sulphur in the world, the only other deposit of importance 
being in Sicily, a volcanic island near Italy. In Loui¬ 
siana the sulphur is secured by drilling wells through 
which several pipes, one inside the other, are driven 
down to the beds of sulphur. By means of steam forced 
down through one of the inner pipes the sulphur is 
melted; by means of compressed air blown through a 
small pipe inside the steam pipe, the melted sulphur, 
mixed with hot water, is forced up to the surface of the 



Pumping molten sulphur from underground deposits, Louisiana. 






110 THE UNITED STATES AS A WHOLE 


ground. There it is allowed to settle in tanks. The sul¬ 
phur thus obtained is almost pure. 

Soda. One of the most important uses of salt is in mak¬ 
ing washing soda and baking soda. Syracuse, New York, 
is the center of this industry. Soda is found in the na¬ 
tural state, the largest deposits known being in Cali¬ 
fornia, at Owen’s Lake, and other lakes. On account of 
its impurities natural soda is less used than that made 
from salt. 

Borax. Borax is a mineral somewhat like salt and soda. 
It is found crude in the Mohave Desert in California 
and in other desert regions of the Western States. It 
is used for laundry purposes, as a medicine, in solder¬ 
ing, in glazing earthenware, and in coating bath tubs, 
cooking utensils, and other iron ware with enamel. 

Phosphate. There are important beds of phosphafte rock in 
several parts of the United States. This rock when ground 
is an excellent fertilizer for growing crops. Florida furnishes 
much more than half the American supply; Tennesee ranks 
second. Several of the Western States, especially Utah, 
Idaho, Wyoming, and Montana, have rich potash deposits, 
but they have not been exploited much, partly because they 
are so far from the principal agricultural regions of thecountry. 

Mica. Mica is a mineral formed in scales or layers. 
Transparent sheets may often be split off. It is used for 
lamp chimneys and stove doors. Small pieces are made 
into spangles. When ground to powder it is used to give 
a frosted appearance to wall paper, pictures, toys, and 
other objects. In our country there are important 
mines in North Carolina, South Dakota, and New 
Hampshire. 

Asbestos. Asbestos is a mineral with long fibers that 
can be made into a sort of cloth. It is fireproof and is 
used to cover furnaces and pipes. It is used for roof¬ 
ing, plastering walls, packing safes, in gas stoves, and 


MINERALS 


111 



A phosphate mine. 

for theater curtains. Deposits of this mineral are found 
in Georgia, Arizona, California, and other states. 

Questions 

1. Where are the principal iron mines of the United 
States? Which cities are great iron and steel centers? 

2. Which states rank high in production of copper? 
Of lead? Of zinc? What are the chief uses of copper? 

3. Which states lead in the manufacture of clay- 
products ? 

4. What are the uses of limestone? Of salt? 

Exercises 

Collect specimens of the most important minerals and 
be able to tell them apart. 

On a map of the United Sates indicate the location of 
the chief mineral deposits. 



CHAPTER VII 


FORESTS AND FOREST PRODUCTS 

Nearly all of the country east of the Mississippi was 
formerly covered with valuable forests. Most of the re¬ 
gion west of the Mississippi and east of the Rocky Moun¬ 
tains was open country. In this belt, the chief forest 
areas are Minnesota, the Ozark Mountains, and the Gulf 
Coast Plain. In the Prairie Plains of this belt, the only 
woodlands are narrow strips of timber along the streams. 
The Great Plains are mainly too dry for forests. The 
western slopes of the Rocky Mountains have sufficient 
rain for trees, and are therefore forested. The greater 
part of the Plateau belt is treeless, the vegetation consist- 



A cottonwood grove bordering a river. 
112 




FORESTS AND FOREST PRODUCTS 113 


ing mostly of bunch grass, sage brush, greasewood, and 
cactus. Some of the highest ranges, however, of this re¬ 
gion are covered with forests, which are of great value in 
conserving the water from snow and rain for irrigation. 
The western slopes of the Pacific Ranges have abundant 
rainfall, and on the rainy slopes of the Cascade Moun¬ 
tains, Sierra Nevada, and Coast Ranges are the greatest 
forests of the United States. The highest peaks of the 
Cascade, Sierra Nevada, and Rocky Mountains are too 
cold for the growth of trees. The climate and plants of 
these mountain summits are like those of the polar re¬ 
gions. The trees are dwarfed by cold, and although they 
may be a century old, are only a few feet high. Only 
mosses, lichens, rushes, and a few quick growing flowers 
live in these places. The line that marks the upper limit 
of trees upon mountain slopes is called the timber line. 



Timber line, the upper limit of trees. 


Forest Regions. The forests of the United States are 
grouped into five sections. The Northern Forest lies in 
the northeastern part of the country, occupying New 



114 THE UNITED STATES AS A WHOLE 



Natural forest regions of tbe United States. 



National forests and national parks in the United States. The com. 
bined area of the national forests is about 250,000 square, miles. 












































































































FORESTS AND FOREST PRODUCTS 115 

England, the Great Lakes region, and the Appalachian 
Mountains. Along these mountains this forest region 
extends far south of the main body. The Southern For¬ 
est is located mainly upon the Atlantic Coast Plain and 
the Gulf Coast Plain. The Central Hardwood Forest 
lies mainly in the Ohio Valley, in the Ozarks, and in 
Texas. The belt of forests in the Rocky Mountains con- 



© Underwood tc Underwood 

Felling a giant tree. 


stitute the Rocky Mountain Forest. The Pacific Coast 
Forest includes the forests upon the slopes of the Pacific 
Ranges. 

Pacific Coast Forest. Most of the trees of the Pacific 
Coast Forest are softwoods or evergreens, such as firs, 
pines, and hemlocks. The Douglas fir, or Oregon pine, as 





116 THE UNITED STATES AS A WHOLE 


it is also called, is the largest and most important tree. 
These trees attain a height of 300 feet, and the trunks 
measure from 2 to 7 feet in diameter. The Douglas fir 
furnishes most of the lumber cut in the Western States. 
It is in demand for masts of ships and for bridge timbers, 
as well as for building purposes. The largest trees are 
in Washington and Oregon. The redwood in the Coast 
Ranges and the “bigtrees” in the Sierra Nevada are 
giant trees found nowhere else in the world. Both are 
beautiful, cone-bearing evergreens, with trunks rising 
200 feet to the lowest branches, and lifting leafy tops a 
hundred or a hundred and fifty feet higher. The red¬ 
woods are being rapidly cut down by lumbermen, the 
wood being especially desired for shingles. The “big- 
trees’ ’ grow only in California, in clumps scattered 
among forests of Douglas fir, pine, and other trees. The 
best known trees are those in the Mariposa Grove near 
the Yosemite National Park, and those in the Mammoth 
Grove near San Francisco. These trees grow to a height 
of about 300 feet. The largest trees are believed to be 
twenty-five centuries old. They are protected from de¬ 
struction by California and the United States govern¬ 
ment. 

Rocky Mountain Forest. The forests of the Rocky Moun¬ 
tains are not nearly so dense as those of the Pacific 
Ranges, nor are the trees so valuable. About one half 
of the trees of the Rocky Mountain Forest are lodgepole 
pine. Many of these forest tracts are more valuable for 
storage of water for irrigation than they are for lumber. 

Northern Forest. The trees of the Northern Forest are 
mostly pine, spruce, fir, hemlock, and cedar. Among 
these cone-bearing trees are some hardwoods, mainly 
beech, maple, and birch. The white pine was the most 
common and most valuable tree of the Northern Forest. 
Most of these trees have been cut down for lumber, but 


FORESTS AND FOREST PRODUCTS 117 


there are still large quantities of white pine in Minne¬ 
sota, Wisconsin, and Michigan. In many of the swamps 
of the region the tamarack or larch is common. This 
beautiful tree has needle leaves and bears cones; but, 
unlike nearly all of the coniferous trees, it is deciduous— 
that is, it sheds its leaves in the fall. 

Vermont, New York, and Ohio have great groves of 
maple trees. In spring, when the sap is flowing in the 



Sugar maple grove, Vermont. 


trees, workmen bore a hole in the trunk of each tree and 
day after day collect the sweet, watery sap. This is 
boiled in great kettles and made into syrup or sugar. 
The wood of the sugar maple is hard and white. It is 
used for floors, furniture, and many other things. In 
some trees the wood is dotted with tiny knots, and it is 
called bird’s eye maple. This is in great demand for 
making furniture. 

Spruce is ground into wood pulp, from which cheap 
paper is made. Hemlock also is used for wood pulp. 
The manufacture of wood pulp is carried on mainly in 
the Northeast, where there is abundant water power. 













118 THE UNITED STATES AS A WHOLE 


New York makes most wood pulp. Glens Palls and 
Watertown, New York; Bellows Palls, Vermont; and at 
Bangor and other towns in Maine are leading centers of 
this industry. 



Logs for wood pulp. 


Central Hardwood Forest. The most common trees of the 
Central Hardwood Forest are oak, hickory, chestnut, 
walnut, butternut, elm, and other hardwoods. Of these 
the white oak is the most valuable. Like all oaks its fruit 
is an acorn. The wood is strong and durable, and is used 
in cabinet making and carpentry wherever a strong and 
beautiful wood is needed. When the logs are cut into 
quarters, before sawing into boards, the grain shows 
beautiful figures peculiar to quartered oak. Walnut is a 
beautiful wood much used in cabinet making. Hickory 
is tough and strong, and is used extensively for tool 
handles and spokes of wheels. Most of the fine hard¬ 
wood forests north of the Ohio River have been cleared. 
The chief hardwood forests are in West Virginia, Ten¬ 
nessee, Kentucky, and Arkansas. One of the most beau- 




FORESTS AND FOREST PRODUCTS 119 

tiful trees of our hardwood forests is the dogwood, 
which, in spring, before its leaves attain full size, is 
crowned with snowy blossoms. 

Southern Forest. The Southern Forest extends from New 
Jersey to eastern Texas, occupying the coastal plains. 
Yellow pines are the chief trees. Yellow pine lumber, 
which is used extensively in building, comes from these 
trees. The wood is stronger and heavier than white pine, 
is yellowish in color, and resinous. The name, yellow 
pine, is applied to many species of pines, chief of which 
are the longleaf pine, swamp pine, loblolly pine, and 
shortleaf pine. From many of the yellow pines the 
sap is extracted and made into turpentine, pitch, tar, 
and rosin. These products are known as naval stores. 
The sap is collected in cups as it flows from cuts made in 
the bark. It is heated in a copper vessel, called a still, to 
separate the gum or rosin from the turpentine, a white, 
watery liquid used to mix paints and to dissolve rubber 
and gums. Eosin is mixed with tallow in making brown 


A “turpentine farm.” 







120 THE UNITED STATES AS A WHOLE 


soap, and is also used in cheap varnishes and in me¬ 
dicinal ointment. From the roots and stumps of pine 
trees tar is obtained. It is somewhat like asphalt. The 
wood is roasted, and the tar that oozes out is collected 
in iron pans and poured into barrels. It is used for 
covering roofs and coating the seams in the decks and 
hulls of ships. Tar is made chiefly in Virginia, North 
Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, and Mississippi. 
Florida produces most turpentine and rosin, Georgia 
ranking next. 



A turpentine still. 


The live oak grows in Virginia and the states farther 
south. Its foliage is evergreen, and its hard, heavy wood 
furnishes knees and ribs of ships. 

The palmetto is a small palm which grows in the 
southeast. It has fan-shaped leaves, which are made into 
palm leaf fans. The wood is used for piles and wharves, 
because it does not rot under water. 

The bald cypress, growing in southern swamps, is a 
cone-bearing tree, but not an evergreen. It has a mas¬ 
sive trunk, spreading branches, and sometimes is 150 
feet high. Its lumber is very durable, even in the pres- 






FORESTS AND FOREST PRODUCTS 121 


ence of moisture, and therefore is used for roofs, tanks, 
boats, and greenhouses. Like other trees in the South, 
the cypress is often overgrown and draped by Spanish 
moss, whose long, gray stems and leaves hang in fan¬ 
tastic festoons and garlands from its branches. 

The holly is a southern tree, with glossy, dark green 
leaves and bright red berries. The mistletoe, like the 
Spanish moss, lives upon other plants. It grows mostly 
upon oak and apple trees, and bears white waxen berries. 
Like the spruce and other evergreens of the Northern 
Forest, the holly and mistletoe are cut at Christmas 
time and shipped to the cities. 

Lumbering. For many years the Great Lakes region 
was our greatest lumbering district; but to-day, although 
this section furnishes considerable lumber, our leading 
sources are the Southern states and the Pacific states. 
Washington is our chief lumber state, and Louisiana 



Selling Christmas trees, City Hall, Philadelphia. 



122 THE UNITED STATES AS A WHOLE 

ranks second. Other leading states are Mississippi, 
North Carolina, Oregon, Texas, and Arkansas. The 
three most important kinds of lumber are yellow pine, 
Douglas fir, and white pine. So great is our lumbering 
industry and so wasteful are many of our methods of 
lumbering and manufacturing of lumber and other wood 
products that three times as many trees are cut down 
every year as grow to take their place. 




A train load of logs. 


In the Northern Forest lumbering is carried on in 
winter, when the logs can be hauled over the snow on 
sleds drawn by horses or oxen to the frozen streams. 
The spring freshets float the logs down the rivers to the 
sawmills. It takes courage, strength, and skill to drive 
thousands of loose logs down stream. Sometimes they 
jam together, and will not move until the lumbermen, 
leaping from log to log, loosen them with long, iron- 
pointed poles. A lumberman will balance himself upon 









FORESTS AND FOREST PRODUCTS 123 



Lumbering on the upper Connecticut. 

a log, standing erect as it rolls and rushes down stream. 
Minneapolis, Minnesota, is the greatest lumber market 
in the world. Other important lumber centers in the 
North are Bangor, Maine; Burlington, Vermont; Menom¬ 
inee, Michigan; Duluth, Minnesota; and Chicago, Il¬ 
linois. Here and elsewhere logs are sawed into hoards 
and timbers and made into doors, windows, lath, and 
other building materials. 

The mild climate of the Pacific coast permits lumber¬ 
ing the year round. There is no snow, streams are few, 
and the logs very large; so railroads are built into the 
forests, and the logs are loaded upon flat cars. There 
are great sawmills at Tacoma, Seattle, and Spokane, 
Washington; at Portland and Astoria, Oregon; and at 
San Francisco. From the forests of Washington rafts 
are floated upon the Pacific Ocean to sawmills as far 
south as San Diego, California. 

In the southern States, the logs are generally cut into 







124 THE UNITED STATES AS A WHOLE 


boards on the spot by steam mills that can be moved 
from camp to camp. The lumber is then shipped direct 
to lumber yards and factories throughout the country, 
or to lumber mills at Atlanta and Savannah, Georgia; 
Mobile and Montgomery, Alabama; Pensacola, Florida; 
Houston, Texas; and elsewhere. Among the chief centers 
for oak and other hardwoods are Nashville, Memphis, and 
Chattanooga, Tennessee; Vicksburg, Mississippi; and Little 
Rock, Arkansas. 

Forest Fires. Our forests are not only cut down by 



A log raft on the Pacific Ocean. 


lumbermen, but immense tracts are burned by forest 
fires. Such fires are started usually during a dry spell 
by sparks from locomotives, by the fires of careless hun¬ 
ters and campers, and by other means. Forest fires 
burn not only the trees and underbrush, but the dry 
leaves and roots which largely compose the forest soil. 
Forest fires occasionally destroy villages, and even cause 
the loss of human lives. In a region threatened by fire 
the people gather by hundreds to fight the flames. 

Forests and Stream Flow. The destruction of forests has 
a harmful effect upon drainage. Forest soil made 
spongy by roots holds moisture, and gives it up grad- 







FORESTS AND FOREST PRODUCTS 125 


ually to the springs and streams throughout the year. 
When the forests are cut down the water from rain and 
melting snow pours at once into the streams, causing 
disastrous floods, which are followed by very low water 
in times of drought. 

National Forests. Large forest tracts on the public land 
in the West have been set apart from agricultural land 
and formed into National Forests, which are owned and 
controlled by the national government. The National 
Forests are in charge of trained foresters, who regulate 
lumbering and grazing within the forests, protect them 
against fires, and plant saplings or seeds to replace the 
trees cut down for lumber or destroyed by fire. These 
forests will not only provide a supply of lumber, but will 
also regulate stream flow, so that water may be available 
for power and irrigation. In the Appalachians, the gov¬ 
ernment is buying forests near the headwaters of the 
rivers, in order to secure a navigable depth of water in 
these streams during dry periods. 

Tree Plantings. Upon the Great Plains, especially in 



Planting young Douglas firs in a national forest. 





126 THE UNITED STATES AS A WHOLE 


Kansas and Nebraska, clumps of trees, mostly mulberry 
and osage orange, have been planted as wind breaks to 
protect the farmhouses from gales. Groves of catalpa 
and other rapid-growing trees are planted to supply 
fence posts and lumber. Some of the leading railroads 
are planting large groves of trees to furnish timber for 



Statue of J. Sterling Morton, Nebraska City, Nebraska. This man is 
known as the originator of Arbor Day. 

ties. In some sections of the country groves of nut 
trees have been planted. Texas, Louisiana, Georgia, 
and Florida garner large harvests of pecans. California 
produces large quantities of English walnuts, chestnuts, 
and almonds. Where trees are few they are valued 
more than in the states where forests abound. Nebraska, 
with few trees, first celebrated Arbor Day, which is now 
observed in almost every state. 




FORESTS AND FOREST PRODUCTS 127 


Questions 

1. What are some of the most valuable deciduous 
trees ? The most valuable evergreen trees ? 

2. Where is our great hardwood forest? 

3. Where are the great lumbering sections of the 
United States? 

4. How do you account for the dense forests on the 
western slopes of the Pacific Ranges? 

5. Why are there no forests on the plateaus of the 
Western States? 

Exercises 

On a sketch map of the United States show the forest 
regions. Write in each region the names of the trees 
growing there. 

Make a list of forest products. 

Collect specimens of different kinds of wood and learn 
to tell them apart. 


CHAPTER VIII 


FARMS AND CROPS 

Farms. In the United States, farms vary in size from 
a few acres to several thousand acres. The average 
size is about 140 acres. There are in the United States 
50,000 farms of more than 1,000 acres. Most of them 
are grain farms. As a rule, the very small farms raise 
poultry, small fruits, and garden vegetables. The great¬ 
est farming section is the Great Central Plain. There 
the fertile soil and level surface make agriculture very 
profitable. The Atlantic Coast Plain, also, is a rich farm¬ 
ing region. In the Appalachian Highland many farms 
have been abandoned because the thin, rocky soil has 
become exhausted. Although they once produced pay- 



D Detroit Publishing Co. 

An abandoned farmhouse in a mountainous district. 











FARMS AND CROPS 


129 


ing crops of grain, it is cheaper to grow such crops on 
the rich soil of the Great Central Plain, where farms are 
large and the land level, so that machinery can be used 
in planting and harvesting. Many farms in New York, 
Connecticut, and Massachusetts have either been de¬ 
serted or given over to dairying or poultry farming. 



© Underwood & Underwood 

Gunnison Irrigation Tunnel. This carries the water of an irrigation 
canal under a mountain. 


The eastern half of the United States has sufficient 
rain for agriculture; but most of the western half has 
so little rain that irrigation or dry farming must be used 
to produce crops. This is especially true in the Great 
Basin and on the highest part of the Great Plains, where 
there is less than 20 inches of rain yearly. The valleys 
near the Pacific coast, however, have farms whose fer¬ 
tility commands the admiration of the world. 

Irrigation. In many places there are farms where the 
plants are watered from wells or distant streams. The 
water is led by canals and ditches to the fields, and flows 
through furrows or pipes to the crops of vegetables, grain, 



130 THE UNITED STATES AS A WHOLE 


and fruits. This way of watering crops is called irri¬ 
gation. The government of the United States, as well 
as many companies, spends millions of dollars every 
year to increase the acreage of farming land in the 
deserts by building dams across rivers and digging irri¬ 
gation canals to carry water from the streams to the 
land. Throughout the dry regions of the Cordilleran 
Highland the streams, from the Columbia in the north 
to the Colorado in the south, have been tapped to irrigate 
fields and orchards. Many of the dams built to store 



the water of the rivers for irrigation, such as the Roose¬ 
velt Dam across the Salt River in Arizona, are marvels 
of engineering skill. 

Dry Farming. Dry farming is carried on in the semi- 
arid sections of the United States. Only those crops 













FARMS AND CROPS 


131 


that can thrive with little moisture are grown; and the 
soil is cultivated by methods that secure the fullest use 
of the small rainfall. The soil is plowed deep and 
pulverized well so that all the rain will readily soak 
into the ground. By shallow cultivation after each rain 
a layer of loose, tine soil, called a soil mulch, is formed. 
The soil mulch acts as a blanket to prevent the rapid 
evaporation of the moisture in the ground. 

Kinds of Crops. Nearly all the crops of the United 
States are grouped into the following classes: Cereals, 
or grains, hay and other forage crops, fiber crops, fruits, 
sugar crops, and vegetables. In and near cities flowers 
are a crop of considerable value. Tobacco and peanuts 
are crops of some importance not listed in the above 
classes. Cereals form the principal vegetable food of 
the human race. Corn, wheat, and oats are the leading 
cereal crops. Timothy, clover, and alfalfa are the chief 
forage crops. Cotton is the only fiber crop of great im¬ 
portance in the United States. Sugar cane and sugar 
beets are the principal sugar crops. Apples, peaches, 



Shocks of corn. Notice the pumpkins. 




132 THE UNITED STATES AS A WHOLE 


oranges, grapes, and strawberries are some of the chief 
fruits. Potatoes are the chief vegetable crop. 

Corn. Maize, or Indian corn, is the chief crop in the 
United States. It is an American plant, and was un¬ 
known to the Old World until Columbus discovered 
America. The Indians cultivated it in a rude way, and 
shocks of corn, standing in rows along our autumn fields, 
remind the beholder of the Indian’s tepee or tent. Corn 
thrives from the Gulf of Mexico as far north as the 
Great Lakes. It does not grow well along the extreme 
northern border, for there the summer is too short and 
the nights are too cold for it to ripen. It is chiefly used 
for feeding horses, cattle, hogs, and poultry. A kind 
of maize called sweet corn is cooked before the kernels 
harden on the cob. It is a favorite garden vegetable 
and is often canned. Hominy, cornstarch, glucose, and 
corn syrup are made from field corn. A small variety 
is popcorn, the kernels of which burst into white masses 
when heated. 



Corn production in the United States. One dot equals 100,000 bushels. 








FARMS AND CROPS 


133 


Iowa and Illinois are the leading states in the produc¬ 
tion of corn. These two states, together with Nebraska, 
Missouri, Kansas, Indiana, and Ohio, grow more than half 
of the entire corn crop of the United States. Texas, also, 
produces a large yield of corn. Most of the fertile land 
of the South is devoted to cotton instead of corn. 

The manner of harvesting differs. Usually only the 
ears are harvested, and the stalks, left standing, form 
winter pasture, for live stock. However, a great part 



A gang plow and traction engine. 


of the crop is cut and gathered into bundles, or shocks. 
Later, the corn is husked by hand; or the stalks, leaves, 
and ears are placed in a machine, called a shredder, 
which husks the corn and shreds the stalks and leaves 
into small pieces. This shredded fodder is stored in 
harns and fed to farm animals during the winter. Along 
the northern part of the United States much of the corn 
is cut while green and stored in silos. 

Wheat. Wheat is not as large a plant as corn, and 
looks more like a grass. In this, it resembles oats, rye, 
and barley. The grain of these plants when ripe is sep¬ 
arated from the husks or chaff and from the stalks or 





134 THE UNITED STATES AS A WHOLE 



Wheat production and chief flour-milling centers of the United States. 
One dot equals 50,000 bushels of wheat. 


straw by threshing. Wheat, although ranking second 
among the cereals in the United States, is regarded the 
world over as the most valuable of all grains, and is the 
most widely grown. The principal kinds of wheat are 
winter wheat and spring wheat. Winter wheat is sown in 
the fall. It begins growth at once, keeps alive through the 
winter, and ripens in the following summer. Spring, or 
hard, wheat, is sown in the spring and ripens the same 
year. The greatest wheat belt lies west of the Mississippi 
River, from North Dakota and Minnesota to Oklahoma. 
Another region is in Washington and Oregon. Illinois, 
Indiana, and Ohio, in the corn belt, also raise much wheat. 
Spring wheat is grown chiefly in Minnesota, North Dakota, 
and South Dakota, in the Valley of the Red River. This 
fertile valley, the greatest wheat section in the country, was 
once occupied by the great glacial lake, Lake Agassiz. 
Winter wheat is grown farther south, from Kansas and 
Oklahoma to Ohio. 













FARMS AND CROPS 


135 



Sowing grain. 


In the Red River Valley the plowing is done in Octo¬ 
ber and November, by gang plows, drawn by horses or 
traction engines. In April, after the winter snows have gone, 
the ground is harrowed and the seed is then sown by 
machines called drills. The grain ripens in July and 
August, and is harvested by reapers, which bind it 
with twine into sheaves. About a dozen sheaves are 
placed together in a shock, and left in the field until they 
are dry. Then the wheat is hauled to the threshing 
machine, which separates the grain from the straw. 

Other Grains. Oats rank high in value as a cereal. They 
are fed mainly to horses and poultry, but they are also used 
by man in the form of oatmeal. Illinois and Iowa are the 
leading states in the production of oats. Rye is used in 
making rye bread, and is grown especially in Wisconsin, 
Michigan, and Minnesota. Barley is a hardy grain, thriv¬ 
ing in a cold climate as well as in a warm one, and requir- 




136 THE UNITED STATES AS A WHOLE 



A rice field, Texas. 

ing less rainfall than any other cereal. Most of it is grown 
in California and in North and South Dakota and Minne¬ 
sota. Buckwheat is grown mainly in Pennsylvania and 
New York. Rice is a cereal which grows in a warm climate, 
on land which can be flooded. Most of it is grown in Asia, 
where it is the chief food. Louisiana, Texas, and Cali¬ 
fornia produce almost the entire crop of this country, 
although Arkansas and South Carolina also raise rice. 

Questions 

1. Which are the chief cereal crops? 

2. Which states comprise the corn belt? 

3. Which are the leading wheat states? 

4. Which states rank high in yield of both wheat and 
corn? 

5. What uses are made of corn? Barley? 


Forage Crops. Hay, pasture grasses, and other plants 
whose stems and leaves serve as food for farm animals 
are called forage crops. On the mountains and plateaus 




FARMS AND CROPS 


137 


of the western states and on the dryer portions of the 
Great Plains the herding industry depends upon the wild 
grasses that grow in these regions. In the eastern part 
of the country, blue grass is one of the best pasture 
grasses. The Ohio Valley has famous pastures of this 
grass. Timothy and clover are grown extensively for 
hay in all sections where horses and cattle are raised. 
Alfalfa is the leading hay crop of the western states. 
Oats are sometimes cut while green and used as hay. 



A haying scene. 


Corn silage is an important forage crop. The corn is 
cut while the leaves are green and stored in silos, in 
which it keeps fresh for months. The green leaves and 
soft grains furnish a food that animals relish. Millet, 
sorghum, and cowpeas are other forage crops. 

Cotton. Next to corn, cotton is the largest and most 
valuable crop in the United States. Cotton is the most 
important vegetable fiber in the world, and the United 
States grows about twice as much as all other countries. 








138 THE UNITED STATES AS A WHOLE 



Cotton region and chief centers of cotton manufacture. 


Cotton is a woody plant, about three feet tall, and 
bears pretty yellow or white flowers, which turn red and 
produce a boll, in which are the seeds. To the seeds are 
attached the white cotton fibers. These fibers are some¬ 
what like the floss of the milkweed seeds. 

The southern tier of States from Texas to North Caro¬ 
lina, excepting Florida, .plus Oklahoma, Arkansas and 
Tennessee, are the chief cotton states. Texas grows one 
fourth of the American cotton crop. Galveston is the great¬ 
est cotton port in the country. Mobile, New Orleans, and 
Savannah are other important cotton ports. Excepting 
New Orleans, St. Louis and Memphis are the largest 
cotton ports on the Mississippi River. From Houston, 
Texas, large quantities of cotton are shipped by rail 
and water. The best cotton grows on islands and low¬ 
lands of South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. It is 
called sea-island or long staple cotton. The fibers are 
long, measuring 2 y 2 inches, and are easily pulled off 
the seed. Upland, or short staple cotton, which furnishes 













FARMS AND CROPS 139 

most of our cotton crop, grows on the uplands of the 
cotton states. The fibers are about half as long as those 
of sea-island cotton. 

Little cotton grows more than 36° away from the 
Equator, because it requires six or seven months of warm 
weather, and the summer beyond that latitude is too 
short. Seed is sown in March in Texas, and in May in 
the Piedmont belt of North Carolina. The flowers ap¬ 
pear from May to July, and the bolls begin to ripen in 
August, and are picked during the fall months. The 


Bales of cotton. 

plant is constantly flowering and fruiting, and picking 
continues until frost. Picking is done by band. It is 
light work, and women and children as well as men are 
engaged in it. It requires care not to drop the cotton and 
to keep it clean from dry leaves. Most pickers gather 
about 100 pounds a day. Not only the farm hands but the 
negroes of the towns and villages go to the plantations 
daily to pick cotton. The profitable cultivation of cotton 




140 THE UNITED STATES AS A WHOLE 


depends upon separating the fibers of cotton from the 
seed. The machine used is called a gin, an abbreviation 
of engine. It was invented by Eli Whitney in 1792, and 
although much improved the principle is still the same. 
A number of notched steel disks like coarse circular saws 
catch the fibers and tear them from the seed. Then the 
fibers are brushed off the disks. Another kind of gin 
consists of a pair of rollers which catch the threads and 
pull them from the seed. The cotton fiber is very loose 



© Underwood & Underwood * 

Shoveling cotton seed into a cottonseed mill. 


and bulky, and is packed by hydraulic presses into bales 
weighing 500 pounds. The bales are covered with coarse 
bagging and then shipped to the factory towns of this 
and other countries to be manufactured. 

Cotton is spun into thread for sewing, and woven into 
cloth. The seeds are placed under great pressure and 
cottonseed oil is extracted. This is a substitute for olive 
oil, and is used instead of lard for cooking. It is also 







FARMS AND CROPS 


141 


used in making soap, candles, and phonograph records. 
The refuse seed after the oil is extracted is called oil 
cake. When ground, the oil cake becomes cottonseed 
meal. This meal and oil cake are valuable food for 
cattle. Cottonseed meal is largely used as a fertilizer, 
enriching the very soil on which it was grown. The fiber 
is the principal product of the cotton plant. The others 
are called by-products. 

Flax. The United States is one of the four principal 
countries that raise flax, a grass-like plant bearing a 
pretty blue flower. In other countries flax is raised 
mainly for the fibers which are obtained from the stalks. 
From these fibers linen is made. In our country the flax¬ 
seed is the valuable part. From it linseed oil is pressed. 
This oil is used in making paints, varnish, oilcloth, and 
linoleum. North Dakota, South Dakota, and Minnesota 
produce almost the entire crop. 

Questions 

1. Which states lie in the cotton belt! 

2. Which is the best kind of cotton! Where is it 
grown! 

3. What is the cotton gin! What effect has it had 
upon the cultivation of cotton! 

4. What products are obtained from the cotton crop! 

5. Which is the leading cotton state! Which city is 
the chief cotton port! 

6. What products are obtained from flax! For which 
product is it grown in the United States! 

Sugar Cane. Sugar is another great food product of our 
country. Most of it is made from beets, the rest being 
made from sugar cane. Sugar cane is a grass which 
looks somewhat like corn, but does not bear ears. It 
grows 6 to 12 feet high, and has a plume at the top. 
In planting sugar cane, the stalks are cut into pieces, 


142 THE UNITED STATES AS A WHOLE 



Sugar-cane and sugar-beet regions of the United States. 


each of which has a hud that grows into a new plant. 
The sugar is in the juice or sap of the stalk. After the 
cane is cut, it is pressed between massive steel rollers 
to press out the juice. By boiling this, brown sugar and 
molasses are obtained. The crude sugar is then shipped 
to sugar refineries where it is converted into refined 
sugar. Sugar cane grows in warm southern countries 
near the sea. Louisiana produces almost all the sugar 
cane grown in continental United States. Porto Rico 
produces about an equal amount, and Hawaii much more. 

Sorghum resembles sugar cane, but is hardier, and can 
be grown much farther north. From this plant a sweet 
sap is obtained that is made into molasses. Sugar, how¬ 
ever, is not made from sorghum. 

Sugar Beets. Sugar beets are even hardier than sor¬ 
ghum. There are great fields of sugar beets in Califor¬ 
nia, Colorado, Michigan, Utah, Idaho, and Wisconsin. 
The first three states produce nearly three fourths of 
the American crop. The beets are hauled to factories, 





























FARMS AND CROPS 143 

where they are washed and sliced by machinery. The 
sugar is dissolved by hot water. The solution is purified 
and evaporated into sugar. Europe produces almost all 
the beet sugar. 

Apples and other Orchard Fruits. The apple is our chief 
orchard fruit. It grows well, except in the warm South 
and the cold North. Washington and Oregon, all the 
states of the Lake region, Vermont, and New Hampshire 
have fine apple orchards. New York ranks first in the 
yield of apples, the lake plain south of Lake Ontario being 
the greatest apple district in the United States. Apples 
from the great orchards of the Ontario lake plain, the 
Hudson Valley in New York, the Bitter Root Valley of 
Montana, the Hood River Valley of Oregon, and many 
sections of Iowa, Missouri, Washington, Colorado, and 
other states are shipped abroad, especially to England, 

Pears, cherries, and plums are raised in the sections 
that produce apples. Peaches grow best in the southern 


An irrigated field of sugar beets. 









144 THE UNITED STATES AS A WHOLE 



An irrigated apple orchard. 


states. In the North they do well only in places that are 
free from unseasonable frosts. The leading peach states 
are California, Georgia, Texas, and New York. 

Subtropical Fruits. Oranges, lemons, limes, grapefruits, 
dates, and pineapples are subtropical fruits that grow 
in the warmest portions of the United States. Large 
crops of citrus fruits—oranges, lemons, limes, and 
grapefruits—are grown in California and Florida. Some 
citrus fruits are grown along the Gulf Coast. California 
ranks first in subtropical fruits, and Florida second. 
Florida raises more grapefruits and limes than any other 
state, and most of the pineapples grown in the United 
States come from southern Florida. 

The Leading Fruit State. California is the leading fruit 
state. The state has so wide a range in latitude and its 
surface varies so greatly that several kinds of climate 
exist; and sections well suited to every kind of fruit can 
be found somewhere in the state. Southern California 
is the great citrus section of the state, although in the 






FARMS AND CROPS 


145 


foothills bordering the Great V alley there arc citrus or¬ 
chards, even in northern California. Middle California, 
just south of the Golden Gate, produces the largest 
grape crops of the United States. They are mostly 
dried for raisins or made into grape juice. The yield 



Underwood & Underwood 


An orange orchard, California. 

of raisins is more than enough for the entire American 
supply. Cherries, peaches, plums are raised, and, like 
the other fruits, are sent to all parts of the United 
States by fast trains of refrigerator cars. In Cali¬ 
fornia the olive has been cultivated since its intro¬ 
duction by the monks when this state was Spanish 
territory. 

Small Fruits. Strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, 
currants, gooseberries, and other small fruits are pro¬ 
duced in the fruit-growing states, and thrive in the 
states that are too cold for orchard fruits. By far the 
most important of the small fruits is the strawberry. 
More than half the cranberry crop in the United States 




14G THE UNITED STATES AS A WHOLE 

comes from bogs in Massachusetts, near Cape Cod. 
Other cranberry bogs are found in New Jersey and 
Wisconsin. 



©Underwood & Underwood 

Loading a refrigerator car. 


Market Gardening. Near the large cities market gar¬ 
dening is a profitable occupation. New Jersey, situated 
between New York City and Philadelphia, is largely 
given over to it, as are Long Island and other parts of 
New York State, eastern Pennsylvania, Delaware, and 
Maryland. Maine and eastern Massachusetts supply the 
Boston markets. Maine corn and Boston lettuce are 
shipped to most eastern cities. The districts lying near 
Chicago, St. Louis, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Denver, and 
San Francisco raise large crops of vegetables and fruits 
for these cities. 

The demand for fresh fruits and vegetables is con¬ 
stant. Florida supplies strawberries, tomatoes, aspara- 










FARMS AND CROPS 


147 



Picking cranberries. 


gus, peas, and other fresh vegetables not only to the great 
hotels at St. Augustine, Jacksonville, Ormond Beach, and 
Palm Beach, but also to the northern cities. California also 
supplies the winter market. Later in the year, when the 
supply from Florida and California stops, Georgia, North 
Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, 
Maine, and even Canada in turn supply the market. 
Thus strawberries and vegetables, like cauliflower and 
celery, are in market from Christmas through spring and 
summer until late the next fall. In winter, Chicago and 
other cities of the Mississippi Valley are supplied with 
fresh fruits and vegetables from the Gulf states. Water¬ 
melons, which grow throughout the southern and middle 
sections, do especially well in Georgia, Kentucky, Ar¬ 
kansas, and Colorado. In Colorado, in the valley of the 
Arkansas Biver, the Bocky Ford cantaloupe is grown 
and shipped to all parts of the United States. 

Tobacco. The United States is the leading country in 
the growth of tobacco, producing more than two fifths 
of the entire crop of the world. Tobacco is a rank plant 








148 THE UNITED STATES AS A WHOLE 



A tobacco warehouse, North Carolina. 

several feet tall, with large, coarse leaves and long, pink 
flowers. After the leaves begin to dry they are either 
cut from the stems or else the entire plant is cut and 
hung in barns to dry. The leaves are then stripped from 
the stems and stacked in piles. Tobacco is often kept, or 
cured, several years before being manufactured. Con¬ 
necticut and Florida produce the finest tobacco, but not 
in large quantities. Kentucky is the leading state, North 
Carolina and Virginia ranking next, and these states 
produce about three fifths of all the tobacco raised in 
the United States. The rest comes mostly from Pennsyl¬ 
vania and the Ohio Valley. 

Potatoes. The value of the potato crop is exceeded 
only by maize, wheat, cotton, oats and hay. New York 
produces the largest crop; many potatoes are grown also in 
Maine, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota. 

Other Crops. Peanuts are grown in Virginia, North Car¬ 
olina, and other southern states. The pods grow under- 






FARMS AND CROPS 


149 



© Underwood & Underwood 

A nursery, Rochester, New York. 


ground, and when ripe the plants are pulled up and placed 
in piles to dry. After the peanuts are gathered they 
are shipped to all parts of the country. 

In the vicinity of large cities, especially New York, 
Philadelphia, and Rochester, there are nurseries where 
trees and shrubs are grown. Greenhouses furnish foliage 
plants, like ferns and palms, and flowers, such as roses, 
carnations, and violets. 

Questions 

1. What are the chief fruits of the United States? 

2. Which is the leading orange state? The leading 
apple state? 

Exercises 

Collect samples of different grains and be able to tell 
them apart. 

Classify crops according to whether they grow above or 
below ground, on trees, shrubs, or vines; whether fruit, 
leaves, stalk, or root are used, etc. 

Upon a map of the United States indicate the distribu¬ 
tion of each of the chief crops. 









CHAPTER IX 


ANIMAL LIFE AND ANIMAL PRODUCTS 

Wild Animals. Many years ago, when there were but 
few people in the United States, wild animals were plen¬ 
tiful. Millions of bison, improperly called buffaloes, 
roamed in great herds over the Great Plains. Bears 
lurked in the forests; herds of deer bounded through the 
woods or grazed over the open plains and prairies; and 
in the woods and streams beaver and other small animals 
were numerous. As settlers increased the forests were 
cleared, giving place to farms and towns. More and 
more the wild animals were hunted for food, for their 
skins and pelts, or because they attacked the settler’s 
sheep or cattle, so that now, after a few hundred years 



'Detroit Publishing Co. 

Bison. 

150 




ANIMAL LIFE AND ANIMAL PRODUCTS 151 


of one-sided warfare, most of our wild animals have been 
killed off or driven to less settled sections. 

In Yellowstone Park and in other public and private 
parks about 1,000 bison are kept in captivity. In Maine 
the moose, our largest animal, is common. Black bears 
and deer are found in the Adirondacks and the Rocky 
Mountains. Herds of elk, deer, and mountain sheep may 
still be found in Wyoming and a few other western states. 
The ferocious grizzly bear still makes its den in remote 



A wolf hunt. 


recesses of the Rocky Mountains in and near Yellowstone 
Park; and in the forests of the warm Southwest there 
are still a few panthers, or mountain lions. Wild cats 
are found now and then in the deep woods of the Appa¬ 
lachian Mountains. The coyote, or gray prairie wolf, is 
numerous on the plains, where it preys upon sheep and 
other small animals, and hence it is vigorously hunted, a 
bounty being paid in some states to encourage its de* 




152 THE UNITED STATES AS A WHOLE 



A beaver dam. 

struction. The wolverine, a ferocious animal abont three 
feet long, with shaggy, black, brown and white blotched 
fur and a bushy tail, is found in the Rocky Mountains. 

In a few unsettled regions, like the Adirondacks and 
Yellowstone National Park, beaver still build their dams 
in the streams. In many localities, minks are killed 
for their fine fur, from which muffs, coats, and other fur 
garments are made. The porcupine, or hedgehog, is 
found in the northern woods. The raccoon, oppossum, 
rabbit, and squirrel are commonly hunted for their flesh 
and fur; the muskrat, fox, and skunk for the fur alone. 
On the western plains there are large hares called jack 
rabbits. Here, too, are prairie dogs, which are not dogs, 
but animals resembling the w T oodchuck. They live in 
burrows, and are considered a pest by the farmers, who 
destroy them not only because they eat the grass needed 





ANIMAL LIFE AND ANIMAL PRODUCTS 153 


for pasture, but also because horses are injured by stepping 
into the burrows. The common rat causes greater loss of 
property and life than any other animal. 

There are more than 100 kinds of snakes in our country. 
Only a few are poisonous. The most dangerous is the 
rattlesnake, so called from the bony rattle at the end 
of the tail. The copperhead, so called from its color, and 
the water moccasin found in the southeastern swamps 
and bayous, are also poisonous. Black snakes, garter 
snakes, and adders are not poisonous. The Gila monster 
is an ugly, poisonous lizard found near the Gila River. 

Alligators abound in the sluggish waters along the 
Gulf coast. In Florida there are alligator farms, where 



Detroit Photographic Co. 


An alligator pond. 


these huge animals are raised for their hides, from which 
a beautifully marked leather is made. The warm waters 
of the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico near 
Florida are the home of the sea cow or manatee. It 
is a harmless animal about ten feet long, living in small 
herds and feeding on sea plants. 







154 THE UNITED STATES AS A WHOLE 


Insect Pests. The insects of the United States are 
smaller and less dangerous than those of hot countries. 
The house fly is so common about buildings that windows 
and doors are screened to keep it out. It breeds about 
stables and carries the germs of dangerous diseases. In 
many swamps, marshes, and stagnant pools mosquitoes 
breed. Their sting is annoying, and one kind carries the 
germs of malaria. Persistent efforts are made to reduce 
the number of mosquitoes by pouring oil upon the waters 
where they breed, or, better still, by draining such places. 

Some insects do much harm to our plants. The Col¬ 
orado potato beetle feeds upon the leaves of the potato. 
Farmers spray the plants with Paris green and other 
poisons to kill these insects. In Kansas and other west¬ 
ern states there have been occasional plagues of Rocky 
Mountain locusts, usually called grasshoppers. These in¬ 
sects settled in fields of grain and hay and devoured the 
entire crops. At present little damage is done by these 
locusts. The boll weevil attacks the cotton boll and does 
damage amounting to millions of dollars every year. 
In Massachusetts and neighboring states the gypsy moth 
attacks the elm and other trees. The San Jose scale 
and other insects destroy fruit trees and vines. Farm¬ 
ers protect these plants by spraying them with various 
preparations. 

Birds. There are about 750 different species of birds 
in the United States. The largest is the California 
condor. The smallest are the humming birds, of which 
the beautiful ruby throat is most common. The bald 
eagle is our national bird. There are many hawks, 
such as the osprey or fish hawk, the chicken hawk, and 
the sparrow hawk, which, like the condor and eagle, 
are birds of prey. Crows, although regarded as harmful 
birds by some farmers, do much good. The herons are 
large wading-birds, having long bills with which, they 


ANIMAL LIFE AND ANIMAL PRODUCTS 155 


spear the fish upon which they feed. In Florida great 
flocks of beautiful white herons, or egrets, have their 
nesting places. Many wild birds, such as snipe, wood¬ 
cock, quail, partridges, and other game birds are hunted 
for food. In cities the English sparrow is common. It 
lives in flocks and is very hardy. It is much disliked, 
because it is quarrelsome and drives away from parks 
and gardens the blue birds, robins, cat birds, and other 
favorite birds. The thrush and mocking bird are our 
best singers. The latter has its home in the South. 
Its color is gray and white. Although its own song is 
rich and musical, yet it mocks the songs of other birds. 
It also imitates noises like the creaking of a wagon or 
street cries. 



Humming bird on nest. 


Most of our birds fly northward in the spring to build 
their nests and rear their young. When fall comes they 
fly to the South and spend the winter there, returning 
northward the next spring. These journeys of the birds 
are called migrations. Many of the birds travel in great 
flocks. Some, like the wild ducks and geese, which spend 




156 THE UNITED STATES AS A WHOLE 


the summer far to the north of the United States, fly 
in V-shaped companies, the leader at the head or point, 
all clamoring and crying as they fly. Some birds cross 
the Gulf of Mexico and enter South America, going even 
beyond the Equator in their migration. 

The bobolink is one of our most interesting birds. 
The male has a gaudy black and white plumage in the 
spring, and flies about our northern meadows with out¬ 
bursts of song. When fall comes his colors change to 
olive-green like those of his mate. Then they fly south in 
flocks, feeding upon the wild oats in the marshes. It is 
then known as the reedbird, and is hunted as a game 
bird. In the South it is called the rice bird. 

Preservation of Animal Life. Our wild birds and other 
animals are becoming so scarce that they are protected 
by game laws. Some forbid the killing of robins, blue 
birds, and others that devour insects; others protect 
buzzards, which clear the fields of carrion; others permit 
hunters to kill a limited number of deer, rabbits, squir¬ 
rels, ducks, quail, and other game for a short time, and 
forbid hunting during the rest of the year, which is 
termed the closed season. The bison, the passenger 
pigeon, and Carolina parrakeet, have been destroyed 
almost entirely. Many of the others are rapidly suffer¬ 
ing the same fate, in spite of our game laws. The United 
States government and some states try to keep up the 
supply by breeding fish in hatcheries and by freeing 
birds and protecting them from natural enemies while 
young. Even with this restocking of forest and stream, 
the gun and rod of the sportsman destroy more than 
can be replaced. 

In some large cities there are collections of wild ani¬ 
mals and birds in zoological parks. There are animals 
of other countries besides our own. They are kept in 
cages or enclosures, which resemble their natural homes. 


ANIMAL LIFE AND ANIMAL PRODUCTS 157 


Food Fishes. The ocean waters, especially those near 
the coast, are the feeding grounds of great schools of 
fish. The cod is the principal salt-water fish. Fleets 
of fishing boats sail from New England ports to the 
Banks of New Foundland and other fishing banks along 
the Atlantic coast in search of cod, herring, and mackerel. 
Similar fleets catch the same fish in the shallow waters 
of Puget Sound. These fish are not only sold fresh, hut 
are salted or smoked. Other fish, like bluefish, halibut, 
bass, and sturgeon, are packed in ice and sold fresh. In 



© Underwood & Underwood 

Black sea bass, California. 


the spring shad and salmon ascend the rivers of both 
Atlantic and Pacific coasts to deposit their spawn. Great 
numbers are then caught. Shad are canned along the 
Susquehanna River. At Eastport and elsewhere in 
Maine herring, salmon, and sardines are canned. At 
Astoria, Oregon, on the Columbia River, and Belling¬ 
ham, Washington, on Puget Sound,'salmon are canned. 
In the Great Lakes the chief food fishes are whitefish, 









158 THE UNITED STATES AS A WHOLE 


bass, trout, and pickerel. Perch, catfish, and sunfish are 
common river fishes. Great catches of fish often too 
small or of kinds unfit for food are taken and used in 
making oil, glue, and fertilizer. 

Other Water Animals. Oysters are found in abundance 
along the Atlantic, Pacific, and Gulf coasts of the United 
States. Small oysters, which swim freely and are called 
seed oysters, are taken in Long Island Sound and shipped 
to other oyster beds to be planted. This is one of the 
chief industries along the shore of Connecticut. The 



Sea turtles. 


oysters as they grow older fasten themselves to the bot¬ 
tom of the sea; and after they have grown to a sufficient 
size they are dragged by dredges or rakes to the surface. 
Baltimore is the chief port for shipping and canning 
oysters. Biloxi, Mississippi, ranks next to Baltimore as 
an oyster port. In the Mississippi Biver, fresh-water 
mussels are gathered and the pearls extracted for use 
as jewels. From the shells buttons are made. Large 
numbers of clams and lobsters are taken for food from 




ANIMAL LIFE AND ANIMAL PRODUCTS 159 


our coast waters. Along the shores of Florida many 
sponges are gathered from the sea, and large turtles are 
captured for food. 

Exercises 

Make a list of wild animals used for food. 

Name the chief fur-bearing animals. 

Domestic Animals. Our wild animals used for food or 
clothing are of small value compared with our domestic 
animals. The leading domestic animals are horses, cat¬ 
tle, hogs, and sheep. Horses are used for pulling loads. 
Cattle, hogs, and sheep are our chief sources of meat. 
Sheep furnish wool also, and this fiber is more valuable 
than the flesh of these animals. Many of our farm crops 
are grown to supply food for domestic animals. Corn, 
our leading crop, is so extensively fed to animals that we 
export almost none of this grain. 

Cattle. In the grazing lands of the Western States 
and in the corn belt of the Central States large numbers 
of cattle are raised for beef. In regions lying near large 
population centers most of the cattle are raised for dairy 
purposes. Near the large cities large herds of dairy 
cattle are kept. They are pastured on hilly farms, where 



Dairy farm. 





160 THE UNITED STATES AS A WHOLE 


rich grass grows abundantly, but where the soil is too 
rocky for other crops. The barns are kept spotlessly 
clean, milking is sometimes done by machinery, and the 
milk is kept cool and pure. Milk is often shipped 
hundreds of miles to the large cities, where it is sold in 
pint and quart bottles. It seldom reaches the consumer 
until a day old. When the distance from market is too 
great for the profitable shipment of milk, it is sold to 
factories, where butter, cheese, and condensed milk are 
made. New York is the chief dairying state. Wisconsin 
ranks next. Iowa, Minnesota, and Illinois are other im¬ 
portant centers of this industry. New England is 
another great dairying region. 



Distribution of cattle and principal meat packing centers in the 
United States. 


On the Great Plains and on the plateaus of the West¬ 
ern states cattle and sheep graze over wide ranges in 
care of a few herdsmen. The farms of the far West are 
called ranches. The herdsmen who care for the cattle 




ANIMAL LIFE AND ANIMAL PRODUCTS 161 



Branding cattle. 


are known as cowboys. They are among the most skillful 
horsemen in the world. Their horses, called bronchos, 
are small, but fleet and wiry. The cattle and horses of 
each ranch are marked or branded on the flank with a 
hot iron. The mark, which may be a design or a mono¬ 
gram, enables the owner to identify his own animals. 
Cowboys are especially skillful in the use of the lasso 
or lariat. This is a long rope with a noose at one end, 
and the other fastened to a ring of the saddle. Riding 
at full speed, the cowboy swings the noose around his 
head in ever widening circles, and finally casts it at will 
over the head or hoof of the escaping steer. In the 
Southwest and Northwest many ranges belong to the 
United States government. Here the herds of several 
ranches mingle, and must be u rounded up” every spring 
to brand the calves, and every fall to separate from the 
herd those animals which are to be sold and slaughtered. 
Some range cattle are sent direct from the range to the 
slaughterhouse, where they are killed and the meat 
dressed for market. But most cattle are sold when they 
weigh 1,000 pounds to the farmers of the corn states, 




162 THE UNITED STATES AS A WHOLE 



Distribution of swine and sheep in the United States. 


where they are fattened upon corn, cottonseed meal, and 
hay until they gain 300 pounds. It is more profitable 
for the farmers of Kansas, Nebraska, and nearby states 
to feed the corn than to sell it. From these sections the 
cattle are sent to the great meat-packing centers. The 
principal shipping points for sheep and cattle in the 
range country are Cheyenne, Wyoming; Denver, Colo¬ 
rado; San Antonio, and Fort Worth, Texas. 

Horses and Mules. Horses are mostly used as draught 
animals. Horses differ in size and appearance. Some 
are tiny, like the Shetland pony used by children; others, 
used for drawing heavy loads, are large animals. Thor¬ 
oughbred horses are bred for racing, and bring very 
large prices. The Bluegrass region of Kentucky and the 
hills of Vermont are noted for fine strains of horses. 
In Missouri, Kansas, and the southern states mules 
are numerous. 

Sheep and Goats. The United States ranks third as a 
sheep-raising country. Australia is first and Argentina 









ANIMAL LIFE AND ANIMAL PRODUCTS 163 


second. These animals crop shorter grass than cattle, 
and are therefore profitable in semi-arid grasslands and 
in hilly and mountainous sections. They are kept in 
many states, but are most numerous in Montana, Wyom¬ 
ing, New Mexico, Idaho, Utah, and Ohio. Sheep are 
raised either for the wool or for the flesh. 

In some sections goats are kept, usually in small num¬ 
bers, but occasionally in large herds. The hair of An¬ 
gora goats, called mohair, is woven into cloth, and the 
hides of all goats make valuable leather. 

Swine. One of the most important farm animals is the 
hog, which is raised for its flesh, called pork. More than 
one third of the swine in the world are raised and slaugh¬ 
tered in the United States, mostly in the northern states 
of the Great Central Plain. 

Poultry. Of domestic fowls, chickens are by far the 
most common. Large farms, called poultry farms, are 



Sheep shearing. 




164 THE UNITED STATES AS A WHOLE 



© U oderwood & Underwood 

A squab farm. 

devoted to raising chickens, turkeys, geese, ducks, guinea 
fowls, and pigeons. Many of the eggs are hatched in 
incubators. Care is taken to feed and rear fine poultry. 

Ostriches. In southern California, Arizona, and Florida 
thousands of ostriches are raised for their plumes. The 
first birds were brought from Africa. 

Questions 

1. Which domestic animals are slaughtered for food*? 

2. What are dairy products? Which states lead in 
dairy products? 

3. Which states lead in sheep raising? 

Exercises 

Make a list of animal products. 

Name the kinds of meat sold by the butcher and tell 
which animal furnishes each kind. 




CHAPTER X 


MANUFACTURING 

Manufacturing ranks next to farming in the United 
States. There are mills and factories in all parts of the 
country, but chiefly in the Northeast. New York and 
Philadelphia are our chief manufacturing cities. 

Raw Materials. The products of the mine, quarry, for¬ 
est, and farm are called raw materials, and are generally 
of little use until they have been manufactured (manus 
means hand; facto means make). Sometimes the manu¬ 
factured product of one industry is the raw material for 
another. After iron ore has been smelted and cast into 
pigs, it is still the raw material, from which tools, hard¬ 
ware, and machinery are made. When logs are sawed 
and planed into boards, shingles, and other kinds of 
lumber, they are raw material for furniture and other 
wooden articles. Grain is ground into flour, which 
requires further manufacture by the baker to become 
bread. Cotton and wool are spun into threads and woven 
into cloth. This is the raw material from which dress¬ 
makers and tailors make garments. Hides, when tanned, 
become leather, from which shoes, harness, bags, and 
other articles are made. 

Power. Most of our manufacturing plants are run by 
steam power which is generated from coal. Many fac¬ 
tories, however, derive their power from waterfalls. In 
hilly country the water rushing down the steep beds of 
the streams with great force is directed against wheels, 
and, by turning them gives power to machinery in the 
mill or factory. At the Fall Line (pages 14, 15) many 

165 


166 THE UNITED STATES AS A WHOLE 


important manufacturing centers liave been built up. In 
the Blue Ridge, where cataracts and rapids afford fine 
water power, there are many manufacturing cities. 
Niagara Falls have been harnessed to machinery. Some 
of the water, instead of dashing freely over the Falls and 
adding to their splendor, is drawn off above the Falls, 
turned into channels blasted in the rock, which lead it to 
turbines that turn dynamos. From thence it flows down 
through tunnels to the Niagara River at the foot of the 
Falls. The electric current from the dynamos runs mills, 
electric cars, and furnishes light not only at the Falls, 
but in Buffalo, Lockport, Syracuse, and other cities. 

Electricity, generated by water or steam power, is 
largely used in mills and factories. It can be conveyed 
over wires to a distance, whereas steam and water power 
must be used near the site where they are produced. 
The cost of manufacturing depends largely upon the 
kind of power used. Water power is cheap; on the 
other hand, when coal must be brought great distances, 
manufacturing is expensive; and higher prices must be 
charged for the same kind of goods that another manu- 



t'alis and mills, 







MANUFACTURING 167 

facturcr having cheaper power can make and sell for a 
lower price. 

Labor. Manufacturing depends also upon the cost of 
labor. A mill requiring many employees is likely to be 
located in or near a large city. Other mills making the 
same goods will be built there because the working peo¬ 
ple understand that trade. Hence a city is often known 
on account of a particular industry, as Paterson, for 
making silk goods; St. Louis, for tobacco products and 
shoes; Trenton, New Jersey, for its potteries; and Troy, 
New York, for collars and cuffs. Often the desire to 
secure labor brings different industries to the same town. 
Since in the iron, coal, and ltimber industries only men 
and boys are employed, girls and women of the laboring 
families can be hired to work in other industries. In 
Pennsylvania, where there are many iron mills, we find 
silk mills giving employment to girls and women. At 
Birmingham, Alabama, the greatest iron and steel section 
of the South, there are cotton mills employing women 
and children. 

Nearness to Raw Materials. Unless other conditions pre- 



Spokane, Washington. 




168 THE UNITED STATES AS A WHOLE 


vent, manufacturers build their factories near the raw 
materials. So, there are many cotton mills in the South. 
Cottonseed products also are manufactured in this sec¬ 
tion, particularly in Memphis, Montgomery, Vicksburg, 
and Natchez. Tobacco products are manufactured at 
Raleigh and Durham in North Carolina, at Louisville in 
Kentucky, at Clarksville in Tennessee, and at St. Louis. 
These cities are near the tobacco fields. At Key West 
and Tampa, Florida, which are near Cuba, there are 
tobacco factories that use Cuban tobacco. Rice mills, 
which remove the husks and polish the grains of rice, 
are located at New Orleans and Galveston. Grand 
Rapids, Michigan, is the leading city in the manufacture 
of furniture, very largely because of its nearness to the 
forests of the Great Lakes region. In the great forest 
regions of the United States, such as Washington and 
Louisiana, are many of the largest sawmills in our coun¬ 
try. Minneapolis and Duluth, near the great wheat 
lands of the Red River of the North, are great centers 
of the milling industry. * 

Nearness to Markets. Another important consideration 
for manufacturing is nearness to markets and shipping 
facilities. If goods are made near the people who buy 
them, the cost of delivery is low. Most of the agricul¬ 
tural implements are manufactured in the great farming 
sections of our country. Some of the largest factories 
for making implements are located at Chicago and Mo¬ 
line in Illinois, and at South Bend, Indiana. 

Chief Manufacturing Section. The northeastern part of 
the United States possesses many advantages for man¬ 
ufacturing. It is the oldest and most densely settled 
part of our country, so there are many cities providing 
both laborers and consumers. It is the wealthiest part 
of the country and demands most luxuries. It has fine 
water power and it is near the Appalachian coal fields. 


MANUFACTURING 


169 


It is near the Atlantic coast, where safe and spacious 
harbors permit the importation of raw materials and 
the shipment of our manufactures to Europe, the most 
highly civilized of all the continents, and therefore the 
best market in the world. 

Iron and Steel. The leading manufacturing industry of 
our country is the production of iron and steel and mak¬ 
ing it into rails, automobiles, machinery, hardware, and 
other iron and steel products. 

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is the chief iron and steel 
center in the United States, and Chicago ranks next. 



Bessemer converter in action. 


Toledo, Cleveland, Gary and Buffalo, situated upon the 
Great Lakes, are other leading centers of this industry. 
In the South, Birmingham, Alabama, is the chief iron 
and steel city; Chattanooga, Knoxville, and Atlanta 
are other centers. The iron ore for the blast furnaces 
of Pittsburgh and the cities on or near the Great Lakes 








170 THE UNITED STATES AS A WHOLE 



is shipped by water from the rich iron mines near Lake 
Superior, in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan. Bir¬ 
mingham owes its importance as an iron center to the 
deposits of iron ore, coal, and limestone that lie near 
the city. 

Meat Packing. Chicago, Kansas City, Omaha, St. 
Louis, St. Joseph, Cincinnati, and Indianapolis are leading 
centers for the slaughtering of cattle, hogs, and sheep, and 
the preparation of meat for the market. These cities have 
immense stock yards connected with the railroads. The 
live stock are driven from the cars into the slaughter¬ 
houses, where skillful butchers, with the help of marvel¬ 
ous machines, slaughter an animal in a short time and 
dress its meat for market. Every part of the animal 
is used. The hides are made into leather; the bones are 
carved into buttons and handles, or are burned to make 
bone black, used in refining sugar. The horns are made 
into combs; the bristles into brushes; and the hoofs are 










MANUFACTURING 


171 


made into glue. The fat is converted into lard or tallow 
and into oleomargarine. Some of the fat is used 
in the manufacture of soap; and from the blood and 
other wastes fertilizers are made. In packing-houses 
that prepare products for interstate or export trade, the 
United States government inspects the animals before 



© Underwood & Underwood 

Meat packing. 


they are slaughtered, and the meat after the slaughter- 
ing. This is done to prevent the meat of diseased 
animals being used for food. 

Wood Products. The manufacture of lumber ranks third 
among our manufacturing industries. Large quantities 
of sawed timber are used for building materials, furni¬ 
ture, implements, railroad ties, and numerous other 
products. Wood pulp, turpentine and pitch, also are 



172 THE UNITED STATES AS A WHOLE 


important forest products. Most of the great sawmills 
are near the forest regions. Some of the chief furniture¬ 
making cities, in addition to Grand Rapids, are Chicago, 
Indianapolis, Detroit, Nashville, and Vicksburg. 



Underwood & Underwood 


A planing mill. The pipes carry off the sawdust and shavings. 

Flour Milling*. The manufacture of flour is a leading 
industry. Minneapolis is the greatest flour-milling city 
in the world. The grain elevators, which store millions 
of bushels of wheat, enable the mills to grind the wheat 
all the year. Buffalo, Milwaukee, and Chicago are other 
cities that manufacture large quantities of flour. 

The Textile Industries. Cotton manufacture is the most 
important textile industry of our country. Next in im¬ 
portance is the manufacture of wool. The amount of 
cotton goods so far outranks the other fabrics that, 
although cotton is much cheaper than wool, the total 








MANUFACTURING 


173 


value of our cotton manufactures is greater than that of 
our manufactures of wool. 

In all the textile industries the fiber of the cotton, wool, 
silk, or other material is spun into thread or yarn. This 
is woven into cloth. Textiles differ in texture or thick¬ 
ness from veils to carpets. They are alike in having 
threads running along the length of the fabric called the 



© Underwood & Underwood 


Modern loom in a woolen mill. 

web, which are filled in by interwoven threads running 
crosswise called the woof. 

Massachusetts is the chief state in the manufacture of 
cotton goods. Fall River, Lowell, and New Bedford are 
leading centers of this industry in Massachusetts. Man¬ 
chester, New Hampshire, and Philadelphia and Chester 
in Pennsylvania are other textile centers. North 
Carolina and South Carolina are the most important 
cotton-manufacturing states of the South. Lawrence, 




174 THE UNITED STATES AS A WHOLE 


Philadelphia, and Providence are leading cities of the 
woolen industry. 

Clay and Glass. The manufacture of clay into bricks, 
tile, and pottery is an extensive industry. Ohio leads all 
the other states in the production of clay products. The 
Hudson valley is the greatest brick-making district in the 
world. Trenton, New Jersey; East Liverpool and Cin¬ 
cinnati, Ohio; and Wheeling, West Virginia, are great 
centers of pottery manufacture. The manufacture 



Making plate glass. 


of glass from sand is closely connected with the natural 
gas regions, which furnish, at low cost, fuel for produc¬ 
ing the intense heat needed in this industry. Glass is 
made at Pittsburgh, Wheeling, Toledo, and in Muncie 
and Anderson, Indiana. 

Other Manufacturing Industries. Ships are built at Phila¬ 
delphia, and at Camden, on the opposite bank of the 
Delaware Eiver. There are large shipyards at Oakland, 
California; Seattle, Washington; Newport News, Vir- 




MANUFACTURING 


175 



© Detroit Puulishiug Co. 

Building a battleship. 


ginia; and at Cleveland, Ohio. Locomotives, cars, and 
electric motors are built at Schenectady, New York; 
Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Wilmington, 
Delaware; and St. Louis, Missouri. Detroit is the chief 
city for the manufacture of automobiles. Printing and 



Printing presses. 












176 THE UNITED STATES AS A WHOLE 


publishing are important industries in many of the 
largest cities, New York ranking first. Large numbers 
of boots and shoes are manufactured in Lynn, Brockton, 
and Haverhill, Massachusetts; and in St. Louis, Missouri. 
New York is the chief city in the manufacture of clothing 
and in sugar refining. 

Questions 

1. Where is the chief manufacturing section of the 
United States? 

2. What are some of the conditions that determine 
the cost of manufacturing? 

3. What are the chief sources of power in manufac¬ 
turing ? 

4. Which cities are great centers of iron and steel 
manufacture? 

5. What are the three leading manufacturing in¬ 
dustries of the United States? 

Exercises 

Name the raw material or materials used in the manu¬ 
facture of each of the following products:—iron, flour, 
lumber, bricks, textiles, locomotives, and automobiles. 

Trace the process by which some article of clothing 
or furniture is turned from raw material into a manu¬ 
factured product. 


CHAPTER XI 


COMMERCE 

Manufacturers and farmers do not as a rule sell their 
products directly to the consumer. There are millions 
of business men, called merchants, who do not produce 
their wares but merely buy and sell them. Products 
must be shipped from the producers to the consumers, 
and millions of men are engaged in transportation. The 
work of buying and selling goods and transporting them 
from one place to another is called trade or commerce. 

Foreign Commerce. The exchange of goods between for¬ 
eign countries is called foreign commerce. Goods that 
enter a country are called imports. Goods sent out from 
a country are called exports. The flour that we ship to 
England is an export of our country; but to England it 
is an import. Each nation inspects the imports from 
other countries; and most countries levy duties upon 
many kinds of incoming goods. Such a duty is called 
a tariff. A customhouse is a large building in which 
is carried on much of the work of government supervi¬ 
sion of foreign commerce. Each city at which imports 
may enter is called a port of entry. Such a city has a 
customhouse. 

Exports of the United States. The chief exports of the 
United States are cotton, iron and steel goods, grain and 
flour, meat and dairy products, petroleum products, and 
tobacco. These six classes of exports constitute about one 
half of the total exports of our country. Cotton is our 
most valuable export, amounting to about one sixth of 
the total value of goods shipped to foreign countries. 

177 



MAP of the 


WOULD 

SHOWING 


COLONIAL POSSESSIONS, 
PRINCIPAL COMMERCIAL ROUTES 
AND TELEGRAPH LINES 


SCALE OF GEOGRAPHICAL MILES 

On the Equator 

i-1-1-1- y 

0 500 1000 1500 2000 

. • s • * 

' • I » \ 

/ On /he 30t|h Parallel \ 

• -7-!- \ -\ 

yd 500 1000 1500 2000 

/ • • \ N 

x / | \ 

/fc)u the 60th ParalleK 

t - 1 - 1 -1 

0 500 1000 1500 2000 


178 




























































0 ° 


60° 


30° 


0 ° 


30° 


60° 



Baffin 


^AxtfhangeL 


udtsvn 


? North 
lasgow 
C J Sect. 
Vj ireine 


BRITISH 


OBCOW 


‘GERMAN 

\ < cji 

It^ierina 


POUND / 


WFOUNDUAND 


Odessa 


St^Nazaire^ 

MarBeillei 


St.-Johns 


alifar. 


>y *t A N ) 

L ^ ^Tashkent;. 

'Bokhara"; K “ h ? ar 


-gJBoston 
''NewYork 
'hiladelphia 


Honstantiij 

.URKEY 


: ^Algiers ]T un is ^ 


c/\«altimore ‘ 
/gVashington 

^Charleston. 
Savannah ^ q 


AZORE8 

Port. 

MADEIRA IS. 1 ? 
Port. 


• AF6HAN- ». 
i ISTAN 


TIBET 


*MUDA 

Br. 


ALGERIA 


means 1 ^ 
Mexico\\± 
$ Havu'fia 


CANARY/ is., 
Spain 


Calcj 

loraba 


^ Mask^tV y» c 
• 


. I St. Louis 

is.s>» fa 

^ /SENEGAL 

Bathurst 

Freetown^ 
Monto via^j 


THOMAS 


.MARTINIQUE Fr.. 

Caribbean Sea (bbarbadoeS 


Madras 


I6ERIA 


^Georgetown 


ColorabovcEYiON 


:0L0MBIA< 


> JJENY.A. 


imbasa 


^ J ^BELGIAN 
jjst 1 CONGO 


99S ^SEYCHELLES 

ir * ^ ‘ 

\<\* e 

\ l X D I 

S TamataN e 

4 *0 .® MAURITIUS 
_ Br- - - 


l'ara w "v 
Pemamoucoj 


ASCENSION L o’. 

» T>~ T " 


Loandi 

ANGOLA 


Callam O' o 


BOLIVIA 


ST.HELENA 

Br. 

CAPRI 


Beira. 


CORN 


TROPIC 


- 

>4-*srLourenc< 
V Marquez 


Rio de. Janeiro 


Durban 


Valparaisi 
A FERNANDEI IS. 

Chile / t 


Cape Town^J 
C.of Good-Hope 


^-jVlonte video 


Buenosh^, 
Airdrt / 


6030 


g Stanley 
FALKLAND IS 

Br % 


Punta An 



u 

| GREEN LAI 

0 

■tCL 

■rs> 

0 


/cjd* 



% 

m * 

C / 

ARCTIC 


*3 ICELAND 

V 

FAROE IS. fc 

Den. 

• 


0° from 00° Greenwich 30° 

COLONIAL POSSESSIONS 



Great Britain. 
France 

Netherlands 

Portugal 

Spain 



Italy 
Denmark 
Belgium 
United States 


_CO 

0° Longitude 30° East from 60° Greenwich 


COMMUNICATIONS 

Principal steamship routes. The heavier blue 
lines show the most important ocean routes 
Figures indicate the distance in geographical 
miles between places marked thus, ® 
Submarine telegraph cables. 

Principal railroads. 

Caravan routes. 


179 










































































180 THE UNITED STATES AS A WHOLE 

> 

Corn is our chief crop, but almost none is exported. Most 
of it is fed to hogs and cattle; and the meat of these 
animals is one of our most important exports. Great 
Britain is by far the largest buyer of our exports. Canada 
ranks next. 

Imports of the United States. The leading imports of the 
United States are sugar, raw silk, coffee, hides and skins, 
rubber, and wool. Cuba is the largest exporter of sugar 


Customhouse, New York. 

to our country. Much of our sugar comes from Hawaii, 
but this sugar is not an item of foreign trade, for Hawaii 
belongs to the United States. Nearly all of our raw silk 
comes from Japan, China, and Italy. Most of our coffee 
comes from Brazil. Many hides come from Argentina, 
Uruguay, Canada, and Mexico. The British East Indies 
and the Dutch East Indies supply most of our rubber. 
Wool is imported from Australia and New Zealand, and 
from Argentina and Uruguay. 





















COMMERCE 


181 


Domestic Commerce. Tlie exchange of goods between 
parts of the same country is called domestic commerce. 
In the United States, grains are shipped from the great 
farming states of the Middle West to all sections that do 
not grow enough of these food products for local use. 
Live stock from the stock-raising regions is sent to the 
great meat-packing centers. From the coal fields of 
the United States, coal is shipped throughout the country 
for manufacturing and heating purposes. Lumber from 
the great forest regions forms a considerable part of the 
freight carried on our railroads and waterways. 

Dressed meats, iron and steel goods, furniture, ma¬ 
chinery, and other manufactures are transported from 
the great manufacturing centers to all parts of this 
country. Tropical fruits, such as oranges and lemons, 
are shipped from California and Florida to all the other 
states. Milk trains run daily into the large cities from 
dairying districts, in some cases two or three hundreds of 
miles distant. 

Questions 

1. What is commerce? What is the difference be¬ 
tween foreign commerce and domestic commerce? 

2. What is the difference between exports and 
imports ? 

3. What is a port of entry? 

4. What are the leading imports of the United States ? 
What countries are large producers of these imports? 

5. What are the principal exports of the United 
States? Which country is the largest buyer of our 
products? What other countries are important buyers 
of our exports? 

Coastwise Trade. A considerable part of our domestic 
trade is carried on by means of ships that sail from 
port to port along the coasts of the United States. The 
Clyde, Mallory, Savannah, Merchants and Miners Trans- 


182 THE UNITED STATES AS A WHOLE 


portation, Southern Pacific, and the New England Steam¬ 
ship are some of the steamship lines operating on the 
Atlantic coast of the United States. American ports on 
the Pacific are connected by several coastwise lines of 
steamers. Nearly all of the trade between Alaska and 
the main body of the United States is carried on by ships 
plying between Alaskan ports and those on Puget Sound. 
All coastwise vessels must be owned by Americans and 
must fly the American flag. 



Fourmaster schooner loading lumber, Jacksonville, Florida. 


Ocean Steamship Lines. From the leading American ports 
on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts, steamships sail to all 
parts of the world. Most of our foreign commerce, how¬ 
ever, is between Europe and the Atlantic ports of the 
United States. Some of the Transatlantic steamship 
lines are the Cunard, White Star, American, Red Star, 
and French lines. A number of lines connect the United 
States with the West Indies, Mexico, Central America, 
and South America. Some of these are the United Fruit 
Company, Lamport and Holt, Munson, Red “ D,” Pen¬ 
insular and Occidental (. P. & 0.), and Ward lines. 

•Several steamship lines connect the western ports of 








COMMERCE 


183 


the United States with Asia and the islands lying in the 
Pacific. Among these are the American-Hawaiian, Blue 
Funnel, Japan Mail, Oriental, and Pacific Mail The ships 
of the Union Steamship Company connect the western coast 
of our country with New Zealand and Australia. 

Many ships were built by the Government during the 
World War, to carry soldiers and supplies. The American 
merchant marine is now the second largest in the world. 

Transportation on the Great Lakes. The Great Lakes are 
the most important inland waterway in the world; and an 
enormous bulk of freight is carried on the lake steam¬ 
ships. From Duluth and other ports on Lake Superior, 
iron ore is shipped to ports on Lake Michigan and Lake 
Erie. Wheat from Minnesota and the Dakotas is car¬ 
ried eastward from Duluth. Large cargoes of lumber 
are also shipped eastward on the Great Lakes. West¬ 
ward, from ports on Lake Erie, the lake steamers carry 
large cargoes of coal and machinery. The leading 
American ports on the Great Lakes are Duluth, Superior, 



© Detroit Publishing Co. 


Ore docks, Duluth, Minnesota, 




184 THE UNITED STATES AS A WHOLE 


Milwaukee, Chicago, Detroit, Toledo, Cleveland, Erie, 
and Buffalo. 

Navigable Rivers. Many of the rivers of the United 
States are highways of commerce. Transportation by 
river is cheap, and heavy, bulky cargoes such as coal, 
lumber, bricks and cotton are shipped by steamboats 
and barges. 

The Hudson is the main important waterway of the 



Freight boats on Lake Superior. 


rivers flowing into the Atlantic from the United States. 
This stream is navigable to Troy, a distance of 150 miles 
from the sea. The finest river steamers in the United 
States are those that ply between New York and Albany 
on the Hudson. The Penobscot, Kennebec and Connecti¬ 
cut are the most important navigable rivers in New 
England. The rivers of the Atlantic coast plain are 
navigable to the Fall Line. 

The Mississippi is the chief navigable river of the 
United States. Large steamers reach St. Louis and 
smaller boats go to St. Paul. The Ohio is the most 






COMMERCE 


185 



A raft of logs on Mississippi above Minneapolis. 

important tributary of the Mississippi. Thousands of 
barges of coal go down stream to the cities along the 
lower Mississippi. 

The Columbia is the most important of the navigable 
streams of the Pacific coast. Portland, on the Willa¬ 
mette, a tributary of the Columbia, is reached by ocean 
steamers. Eiver steamers go hundreds of miles far 
inland on the Columbia and its branches. 

Canals. The “Soo” Canal between Lake Superior and 
Lake Huron, the Erie Canal connecting Lake Erie and 
the Hudson Eiver, and the Chicago Drainage Canal 
which extends from Lake Michigan to the Desplaines 
Eiver, are the most important canals in the United 
States. Another important canal is the Chesapeake and 
Delaware Canal which crosses the narrow strip of land 
between the Delaware and Chesapeake bays. The Cape 
Cod Canal cuts across the neck of Cape Cod and shortens 
the route between Boston and New York. 





186 THE UNITED STATES AS A WHOLE 



© Detroit Publishing Co. 

Erie Canal. 

In the early days of onr country before railroads were 
built, many canals were dug and put in operation. Most 
of these have been abandoned. 

Questions 

1. What are the chief ports on the Atlantic Coast 
of the United States? The Gulf Coast? The Pacific 
Coast? The Great Lakes? 

2. What are the chief river ports on the Mississippi 
River? On the tributaries of the Mississippi? 

3. What are the most important canals in the United 
States? What waters does each connect? 

4. At what possessions of the United States do ves¬ 
sels stop in crossing the Pacific Ocean between Asia 
and the United States? How does the length of the 
voyage across the Pacific compare with that across the 
Atlantic ? 

Railroads of the United States. No other country has as 
many railroads as the United States. These railroads 
make it possible to ship quickly and at low cost the prod¬ 
ucts of any section to other sections. Not only do rail- 








COMMERCE 


187 


roads carry freight, but also passengers, express matter, 
and mail matter. 

Railroads of New England. The New York, New Haven 
and Hartford Railroad connects New York and Boston. 
The Boston and Albany, the Boston and Maine, and the 
Central Vermont are other railroads of New England. 
The Grand Trunk, a great transcontinental railway of 
Canada, extends to Portland in Maine, which serves as a 
winter terminus of this Canadian railway. 



Railroad traffic, Chicago. 


Eastern Railroads from the Great Lakes and Ohio Valley. The 
territory lying west of the middle section of the Atlantic 
coast and extending to the Mississippi has a number of 
important railroad systems. The western part of this 
area, lying between the Great Lakes and the Ohio River, 
is level and railroads can be built at low cost. These 
railroads cross the Appalachian Highland in river val¬ 
leys that form passes through the mountain belt. The 
New York Central is one of the great systems of rail 



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Longitude 


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from 


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190 THE UNITED STATES AS A WHOLE 



The Mohawk Valley. The Mohawk River, the Erie Canal, the four 
tracks of the New York Central, and a highway are shown in 
this picture. 


roads of this territory. From the city of New York the 
New York Central follows the Hudson-Mohawk Valley, 
then continues westward to Buffalo, Cleveland, Cincin¬ 
nati, Chicago, St. Louis, and other points north of the 
Ohio. The New York Central and Hudson River, the 
West Shore, Lake Shore and Michigan Southern, Mich¬ 
igan Central, and Big Four are the most important rail¬ 
roads of this system. The Pennsylvania Railroad Sys¬ 
tem crosses from the Atlantic coast to the Great Lakes 
and the Ohio Valley by way of Pennsylvania. By this 
system the cities of New York, Philadelphia, Washington, 
and Baltimore are connected with Pittsburgh, Chicago, 
Cincinnati and St. Louis. The Lehigh Valley, Lack¬ 
awanna , and Erie railroads connect New York with 
Buffalo. The Baltimore and Ohio System extends from 
New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington to 
Pittsburgh, Chicago, Cincinnati, and St. Louis. This 
system crosses the states of Maryland and West Virginia, 
passing through the Appalachians by way of the Potomac 





COMMERCE 


191 


Valley. The Chesapeake and Ohio Lines extend from 
Washington, Norfolk, Newport News, and Richmond to 
Cincinnati, Louisville, Toledo, and Chicago. This system 
follows the valleys of the James and Kanawha rivers 
across the Appalachian Mountains. The Norfolk and 
Western Lailway connects Norfolk with Cincinnati and 



© Underwood & Underwood 


Pennsylvania Railroad near Altoona, Pennsylvania. 

other cities in the Ohio Valley. It reaches the Ohio by 
way of the valleys of the James and Big Sandy rivers. 

Southern Railroads. The territory lying mainly south of 
the Ohio and James rivers is traversed by three great 
systems that connect the cities along the Atlantic sea¬ 
board and also bring the Gulf coast and interior sections 
in touch with the ports of the South Atlantic coast. The 
Atlantic Coast Line follows the Atlantic Coast Plain, 
connecting Washington, Richmond, Savannah, Mont- 




192 THE UNITED STATES AS A WHOLE 

gomery, Jacksonville, Tampa, and other southern points. 
The Seaboard Air Line runs southward from Richmond 
and Norfolk through Raleigh and Savannah, Jackson¬ 
ville, and Tampa; and westward from Atlantic points 
to Montgomery, Atlanta, and Birmingham. 

The Southern Railway is a great system spreading its 
network of iron over the country south of the Ohio and 
east of the Mississippi. From Washington and Norfolk 
it extends southwestward to Charleston, Savannah, Jack- 
sonville, Chattanooga, Birmingham, Atlanta, Memphis, 
and Mobile. North and south lines of the system con¬ 
nect Cincinnati and St. Louis with the cities to the south. 

North-South Railroads Leading to the Gulf. Several rail¬ 
road systems running in a general north and south direc¬ 
tion connect the states of the Mississippi Valley and fur¬ 
nish an outlet to the Gulf of Mexico. East of the Missis¬ 
sippi are the Louisville and Nashville Railroad , the Mobile 
and Ohio Railroad , and the main line of the Illinois Cen - 



©Detroit Publishing Co. 

Railroad bridges across the Ohio at Cincinnati. 




COMMERCE 


193 


tral Railroad. The Louisville and Nashville connects 
Cincinnati, Louisville, and St. Louis with Nashville, 
Atlanta, Birmingham, Montgomery, Pensacola, and New 
Orleans. By connection with the Chicago and Eastern 
Illinois Railroad , this railroad forms a continuous 
route from the Great Lakes to the Gulf. The Mobile 
and Ohio connects St. Louis with Birmingham, Mont¬ 
gomery, Mobile, and New Orleans. The Illinois Cen¬ 
tral connects Chicago, Louisville, and St. Louis with New 
Orleans. 

The territory lying between the Missouri River and 
the Gulf is covered by the railroads of several systems. 
The Missouri Pacific Railway is an extensive system, 
whose railroads connect Omaha, Kansas City, and St. 
Louis with New Orleans and Galveston. The Missouri, 
Kansas, and Texas Railway extends southward to the 
Gulf from Kansas City to Galveston. The Frisco Lines 
run from St. Louis and Kansas City to Galveston, New 
Orleans, and other Gulf ports. The St. Louis South¬ 
western Railway Lines (Cotton Belt Route) connect St. 
Louis and Cairo with many cities in Arkansas, Louisiana, 
and Texas. 

Railroads to the Pacific Coast. From the Mississippi Val¬ 
ley several railroads extend westward to the Pacific 
coast. These lines are the so-called ‘'transcontinental’’ 
railroads of the United States. In the northern belt are 
the Northern Pacific Railway, Great Northern Railway, 
and the Chicago, Milwaukee, and St. Paul Railway. The 
first two railways connect Duluth and St. Paul and 
Minneapolis with Seattle and other ports on Puget 
Sound and with Portland. The Chicago, Milwaukee, and 
St. Paul system covers the territory between the Great 
Lakes and the Missouri River with a network of rail¬ 
roads connecting Chicago, Milwaukee, Duluth, St. Paul, 
and Minneapolis, Kansas City, and Omaha. West of the 


194 THE UNITED STATES AS A WHOLE 

Missouri a line of this system extends to the ports on 
Puget Sound. 

In the middle belt of the area west of the Mississippi 
are the Union Pacific, the Denver and Rio Grande, and 
the Western Pacific. The Union Pacific is a group of 
railroads extending from Omaha and Kansas City to 
Denver, Portland, and Seattle. The Denver and Rio 
Grande Railroad extends from Denver to Salt Lake City. 
The Western Pacific extends from Salt Lake City to San 
Francisco. A railroad of the Missouri Pacific system, 
running from St. Louis, connects with the Denver and 
Rio Grande. This road and the Denver and Rio Grande 
and the Western Pacific constitute a continuous route 
from the Mississippi River to the Pacific. 

The Santa Fe Railway System extends westward from 
Chicago and Kansas City to Los Angeles and San Fran¬ 
cisco. The Southern Pacific System runs from New 
Orleans and Galveston through El Paso to Los Angeles 
and San Francisco. From San Francisco a railroad of 
this system runs northward to Portland and the ports 



A rotary snowplow, Colorado. 





COMMERCE 


195 


on Puget Sound. Another line of the same system runs 
eastward from San Francisco to Salt Lake City. Steam¬ 
ships of the Southern Pacific connect New York with 
New Orleans and Galveston, thus making a continuous 
route from New York to the Pacific coast. 

Standard Time. All parts of the world do not have the 
same time. When it is daylight in the United States it is 
night in China on the opposite side of the earth. All 
places on the same meridian, however, have the same 
time. Since the sun appears to move across the sky from 
east to west, the farther east a place is, the sooner it 



has sunrise. It takes the sun one hour to pass over 15° 
of longitude. Therefore two places 15° apart will have 
a difference of one hour in time. In west longitude when 
it is 12 o'clock by sun time along the meridian of 90°, it 
is 1 o'clock along the meridian of 75°, 11 o'clock along 
the meridian of 105°, and 10 o'clock along the meridian 
of 120°. 

If the watches of trainmen in different places had sun 
time there would be endless confusion in the operation 
of eastbound and westbound trains. For convenience 







196 






















COMMERCE 


197 


and safety in railroad travel the United States is di¬ 
vided into fonr standard time belts. In each belt all 
clocks and watches have the same time. Each time belt 
has the local sun time of a meridian near the middle 
of the belt. Thus Eastern time is the local time of 75°, 
west longitude, Central time of 90°, Mountain time of 
105°, and Pacific time of 120°. 

Each railroad changes from the standard time of one 
belt to that of another at some convenient point. The 
Pennsylvania Railroad running from New York to Chi¬ 
cago changes from eastern time to central time at Mans¬ 
field ; the New York Central lines change from eastern 
to central time at Toledo; and the Southern Railway 
makes the same changes at Atlanta. The lines bounding 
the time belts are, therefore, not straight north and 
south lines. 

Electric Railroads. The electric roads of the United 
States afford rapid transit in city streets and between 
neighboring towns and villages. Electric cars enable 
farmers and the people of small villages to trade with 
large cities. They have thus helped to make country 
life less lonesome. They often connect towns with 
pleasure resorts. By changing from one car to another 
it is possible to travel from Portland, Maine, to Boston, 
New York, Philadelphia, and with but brief interruption 
to Chicago. The fare is usually lower than on railroads. 

Questions 

1. Which are the chief railroads of the Atlantic Coast 
Plain? Which cities does each serve? 

2. Which railroad systems connect New York with 
Chicago? Where does each of these roads cross the 
Appalachian Mountains? 

3. Which railroads connect the Mississippi Valley 
with the Gulf Coast? 

4. Where are the ‘ ‘ transcontinentaP ’ railroads of 


198 THE UNITED STATES AS A WHOLE 


the United States? Which are the north transcontinental 
railroads? The southern group? The middle group? 

5. At which cities do most of the railroads cross the 
Mississippi River? What important railroad center is 
on the Missouri River? On the Ohio River? 

6. How does the cost of building railroads on the Great 
Central Plain compare with that of building them across 
the Rocky Mountains? Why? 

7. When it is noon in the Eastern time belt, what time 
is it in each of the other standard time belts? 

8. When it is 6 A. M. in the Pacific time belt, what 
time is it in each of the other belts? 

9. A train from New York enters Toledo at 10 A. M., 
Eastern time, and after a stop of 10 minutes starts for 
Chicago. According to Central time, when does it start 
westward from Toledo? 

Roads and Streets. Throughout the United States the 
principal wagon roads are kept in excellent condition. 
They are built of stone, gravel, or other road material. 
They are often coated with oil or tar to keep down the 
dust. Among those who demand good roads are the 
farmers who drive their produce to towns or railroads, 
laborers who work in town and live in the country, and 
the owners of automobiles who travel long distances for 
business or pleasure. 

Chief among the transcontinental roads of the United 
States are the National Old Trails Road, from Baltimore to 
Los Angeles, by way of St. Louis; the Lincoln Highway, 
which extends from Newark through Chicago and Omaha 
to San Francisco; the Dixie Highway from Florida to the 
Great Lakes, by way of Atlanta, Chattanooga and Cin¬ 
cinnati; and the Jefferson Highway, which follows the 
Mississippi Valley from New Orleans to Duluth. Excel¬ 
lent highways lie parallel to the Atlantic coast from Florida 
to Maine, and the Pacific Coast from Mexico to Canada. 

In the cities, streets are paved with asphalt, stone blocks, 
bricks, wooden blocks, or other material. 


COMMERCE 


199 



A country road. 

Communication. Commerce cannot thrive without means 
of sending messages. By mail, telegraph, telephone, 
cable and wireless telegraph it is possible for men thou¬ 
sands of miles apart to transact business. 

Postal Service. The government of the United States 
has charge of the post offices. Letters and post cards 
are sent by mail. Packages are sent by parcel post. 
In cities mail matter is collected and delivered by letter 
carriers. Many parts of the country have free delivery 
of mail. People pay for mail service by buying stamps 
which they stick to letters or packages. Quick delivery 
can he had by putting on a special delivery stamp. 
Money can be sent by money orders. Letters to most 
foreign countries require five cents postage. To Great 
Britain, Canada, Mexico, and a few other countries the 
postage on letters is two cents. 

Telegraphs and Telephones. Telegraph and telephone 
wires, thousands of miles long reach to almost every 
part of the United States. They are strung on tall 



200 THE UNITED STATES AS A WHOLE 



A mail car. 


wooden poles or iron frames along the railroads. In 
the larger cities the wires are placed under ground. 
About one tenth of the families in the United States 
have telephones. The rate for long distance telephone 
service depends on the distance and the time the conver¬ 
sation lasts. The charge for telegrams depends on the 
distance and the number of words in the message. 
Longer messages can he sent at night by both methods 
for the price of day service because at night there is 
less business. Cables have been laid along the ocean 
bottom to Europe and the other continents, and thus 
messages may be cabled to the most distant lands. Along 
the coasts and at important inland points are wireless 
telegraph stations. They send messages to ships at sea 
and even across the Atlantic Ocean. 

Questions 

1. Which part of the United States has most electric 
railroads? Why? 

2. What advantages has the mails over the telegraph? 
The telephone over the telegraph? 





COMMERCE 


201 


3. What are some of the advantages of good roads? 

4. What is the cost of sending a letter to England? 
To France? To Mexico? 

Exercises 

Find out the cost of sending a telegram of ten words 
from your home to each of several large cities of the United 
States. 

Obtain a map showing parcel-post zones of the United 
States. Find out the cost of sending a five-pound parcel 
to each zone. 

Trace a railroad journey from New York to San Fran¬ 
cisco. Obtain time tables of the railroads over which 
you would travel, and views of the cities you would like 
to visit en route. Calculate the time the journey would 
take and how much it would cost. 

Sketch a map of the United States. Show the standard 
time belts and mark the location of one or more cities in 
each belt. Mark also the location of two or three cities 
on the lines separating time belts. 


CHAPTER XII 


OUTLYING POSSESSIONS 

The high rank of the United States among nations 
is due not only to the extensive area and large popula¬ 
tion of the United States and to its industrial, com¬ 
mercial, and educational leadership among nations; hut 
also to the widespread distribution of our possessions 
which make the American flag known in distant quarters 
of the globe. 

Outlying Possessions of the United States. The Philippine 
Islands, our chief possession in the Eastern Hemisphere, 
are near the southeastern coast of Asia. They give the 
United States a great advantage in its competition with 
rival countries for business in the Orient. Their great 
distance from the main body of the United States, how¬ 
ever, makes their defence in case of war a serious prob¬ 
lem. Other possessions of the United States in the 
Pacific are the Hawaiian Islands, Guam, and several of 
the Samoan group. On the mainland of North America 
two of our possessions are separated from the main body 
of the United States. Canada lies between the United 
States proper and Alaska, our largest territory. Far to 
the south, beyond Mexico, in Central America, we con¬ 
trol the Panama Canal Zone, a narrow strip of land 
along both sides of the Panama Canal. This narrow 
waterway has made Uncle Sam the gate keeper of com¬ 
merce in the New World. The merchant navies of every 
maritime power file through the Canal, preferring this 
short cut between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans to 
the long and dangerous voyage around Cape Horn. 

202 


OUTLYING POSSESSIONS 


203 


Porto Rico, an island of the West Indies, is another 
possession of the United States. 

Alaska. Alaska is by far our largest territory. The 
United States bought Alaska from Russia in 1867 for 
$7,200,000. The mines of gold, silver, and copper, the 
salmon and seal fisheries, have repaid this purchase 
price many fold. 

Most of Alaska consists of mountain ranges and 
plateaus. These highlands are the northern end of the 
Cordilleran Highland of North America. Mount McKin¬ 



ley, the highest mountain in North America, is in Alaska. 
The Yukon is the principal river. 

Most of the people are white men who have gone to 
Alaska to seek their fortunes. The rest are almost en¬ 
tirely Indians. About half of the Indian population 
are Eskimo tribes, most of whom live in the northern 
part of the territory. 

Reindeer and dogs are the most numerous domestic 
animals. 

Faikbanks, in the interior, is the largest city, Juneau 




204 THE UNITED STATES AS A WHOLE 


is the capital. Nome and St. Michael are ports on 
Bering Sea north of the Yukon River. 

The government of the United States is going to build 
more than a thousand miles of railroads in order to 
develop the coal mines and other resources of Alaska. 

Philippine Islands. The Philippine Islands were our 
chief prize at the close of the Spanish-American War. 
Luzon and Mindanao are the largest islands. The 
climate is tropical and the rainfall is abundant; but the 
heat is moderated by ocean breezes. About three fourths 



Hemp factory, Philippine Islands. 


of the surface is covered with valuable forests. Most of 
the civilized inhabitants are farmers. Rice, Manila 
hemp, coconuts, tobacco, and sugar are the principal 
crops. Rice is the chief food of the people. The meat 
of the coconut when dried is called copra. Prom copra, 
coconut oil is extracted which is extensively used in the 
manufacture of soap. Manila hemp is made into a great 
variety of articles, ranging from ropes and twine to fine 
lace. The carabao is the chief farm animal. 

Most of the people belong to the Brown race. They 





OUTLYING POSSESSIONS 


205 


are called Filipinos. There are also several thousand 
dwarfs who belong to the Black race. They are called 
Negritos. Several thousand Americans are employed in 
the schools, the army, and the government. Many 
Chinese live in the Philippine Islands. 

The chief exports of the Philippine Islands are hemp, 
copra, and tobacco. The chief imports are rice, cotton 
goods, and manufactures of iron and steel. 

Manila, the chief city, is the leading seaport of the 
Philippines. Cigars and cigarettes, shoes, cotton cloth, 
sugar, and ships are among the chief manufactures of 
Manila. Manila Bay was the scene of Dewey’s victory 
over the Spanish fleet. 

Hawaiian Islands. The Hawaiian Islands lie in the midst 
of the Pacific Ocean. They constitute a territory of the 
United States. 

The soil is of volcanic origin and is very fertile. The 
chief crops are sugar cane, rice, and pineapples. The 
value of the sugar cane is about nine tenths of the total 
value of all the crops. The chief manufacturing indus¬ 
tries are the manufacture of sugar, cleaning and polish- 






206 THE UNITED STATES AS A WHOLE 


ing rice, and canning pineapples. Sugar and canned 
fruits are the chief exports, nearly all of these goods 
going to the United States. 

The people consist of Japanese, native Hawaiians, 
Chinese, Portuguese, and Americans. The native Hawai¬ 
ians are noted as expert musicians, swimmers, and horse¬ 
men. Education is compulsory, and the English language 
is taught in the schools. 

Honolulu, situated on the best harbor of the islands, 
is the capital. Steamships call there on the voyage 
across the Pacific. 

Other Possessions of the Pacific. The Samoan Islands are 
halfway between the Panama Canal and Australia. The 
largest islands are controlled by the government of New 
Zealand on behalf of the League of Nations. Tutuila and 
a few other small islands belong to the United States. 
The harbor of Pago Pago on Tutuila is a naval station. 
Guam, the largest island of the Marianas, was ceded to 
the United States at the close of the Spanish-American 
War. It is a relay station for the American cable connect¬ 
ing San Francisco and Manila. 

Porto Rico. Porto Eico became a possession of the 
United States at the end of the Spanish-American War. 
Since that time the island has prospered and the people 
have been given a share in the government. In the 
schools the English language is taught. About one third 
of the population are negroes. 

Farming is the chief occupation and sugar is the chief 
crop. Tobacco, coffee, pineapples, and bananas are also 
leading crops. The chief manufacturing industries of the 
islands are the manufacture of sugar and molasses, 
making cigars and cigarettes, and cleaning and polishing 
coffee. The products of these industries constitute the 
chief exports of Porto Eico. 

San Juan and Ponce are the principal cities. 


OUTLYING POSSESSIONS 


207 


Canal Zone. In order to operate the Panama Canal and 
protect it in case of war, it is necessary to' control the 
land on both sides of this waterway. The nse and control 
of the Canal Zone was given to the United States by 
the Republic of Panama. Colon is the port at the 
Atlantic end of the canal. The city of Panama is the 
port at the Pacific end. These cities are . not included 
in the Canal Zone, but belong to the Republic of Panama. 

The greater part of the canal stands at an elevation 
much above the sea level, and the ships are raised and 
lowered by locks. These locks are wonders of engineer¬ 
ing skill. Although the canal enables vessels to sail 
from ocean to ocean, the water of one ocean does not flow 
into the other. Part of the canal route is through Gatun 
Lake which was formed by damming the Chagres River. 
From this lake fresh water flows to the Atlantic Ocean 
and in the opposite direction to the Pacific. 

Through the Panama Canal the distance between New 
York and San Francisco is 5,262 miles; while through 
the Strait of Magellan it is 13,135 miles. 



5) Underwood & Underwood 


A section of the Panama Canal. 




208 THE UNITED STATES AS A WHOLE 


St. Thomas, St. John, and St. Croix are small islands lying 
east of Porto Rico. They are called the Virgin Islands. 
They were purchased by the United States from Denmark 
for $25,000,000 in 1916. 

These islands are valuable to us because of the excellent 
harbor at Charlotte Amalie in St. Thomas, which is very 
important as a shipping and naval station. Sugar is the 
chief product. Most of the people are negroes. 

Questions. 

1. How far is Manila from San Francisco? How fa* 
is Colon from the city of New York ? 

2. What are the chief products of the Philippine 
Islands ? Hawaiian Islands ? Alaska ? Porto Rico ? 
What are the leading exports of each of these possessions ? 

3. Which possessions in the Pacific are valuable mainly 
as naval stations ? 

4. What is copra ? 

5. Where is the Canal Zone ? 

6. Why is St. Thomas valuable to the United States? 

7. How much shorter is an ocean voyage between New 
York and San Francisco by way of the Panama Canal 
than by way of Cape Horn? (See map, pages 178, 179.) 

Exercises. 

Obtain railroad and steamship folders and plan a trip 
from your home to Manila. 

Plan a trip to Porto Rico and the Panama Canal. 

Plan a trip from your home to Alaska. 


SUMMARY AND COMPARISON 


The United States is the leading country of the West¬ 
ern Hemisphere and the youngest of the great nations of 
the world. Freedom of speech and of religious and polit¬ 
ical faith, education for all the people, and equal oppor¬ 
tunity for personal advancement in every field of en¬ 
terprise, are cardinal principles of the American people. 

The United States is rich in the gifts of nature. 
Every year we are putting into use resources that have 
heen lying undeveloped, and are discovering new sources 
of wealth. The ambition and ability of our people in the 
use of our natural advantages make the United States 
the richest nation in the world. In no other country is 
the annual output of iron and copper ore and coal so 
great. In the production of precious metals the United 
States ranks second. We raise more wheat than any 
other country, and our crops of corn and cotton are 
greater than those of all the rest of the world. Our 
mines, forests, farms, and fisheries supply the raw ma¬ 
terials which enable us to lead the world in manufactur¬ 
ing. Our iron and steel mills especially outrank those 
of every other country. 

So abundant are our resources that for a long time 
we were wasteful in our use of them. We have come to 
realize that these sources of wealth are not inexhaust¬ 
ible. We now maintain the fertility of our farms, guard 
our mines against waste, protect our forests against fires 
and insect ravages, conserve our water power, and pro¬ 
tect our wild animal life. 

Most of our people enjoy a higher standard of living 
than the citizens of other lands. In miles of railroads, in 
telephone and automobiles, in countless comforts and con¬ 
veniences we surpass every other country. Europe finds 
here a market for her costly wares and luxuries, and to 

209 


210 THE UNITED STATES AS A WHOLE 


a considerable extent we follow the fashions set by the 
great European cities, especially in dress. From Europe 
have come millions of sturdy immigrants whose strength 
and skill have helped us develop our natural resources 
and build up the American nation. 

Questions 

1. Which sections of the United States produce most 
of the precious metals? Which produce most of the coal? 
Where are the most extensive iron mines? Which are 
the leading copper states? 

2. Which part of the United States grows cotton, 
but does not manufacture cotton textiles? Which part 
manufactures cotton goods, but does not grow the cot¬ 
ton? Where is cotton grown and also manufactured 
into cloth? 

3. Which is the most important sugar-cane state? 
In which states are sugar beets raised extensively? 

4. In which section are most of the national forests? 

5. What large rivers are near the southern edge of 
the glacial drift? 


Exercises 

Trace on the map (page 196) the longest journey you 
can make from Portland, Maine. List the important 
cities along the route; use the scale of miles to determine 
the distance between them; collect post cards of scenes in 
each city; write a short account of the industries in each; 
and mention other points of interest about the journey. 

Trace a similar journey from St. Louis; from Pitts¬ 
burgh. 

From railroad folders and official guides learn the 
names of the railroads shown on the map, pages 188,189. 

Trace on the map (pages 188,189) the route you would 
take in traveling from your home to several of the larg¬ 
est cities of the United States. Trace the route you 
would take in going from New York to San Francisco; 
from St. Paul to Seattle. 


INDEX AND PRONOUNCING VOCABULARY 

KEY. — Vowels : a in late, & in f&t, in c&re, a in far, a in last, a in fall, \ in sofa, au in 
author; e in me, S in m&t, bSrry, e in veil, e in term, 6 in th^re; I in fine, I in tin, 1 in 
police; o in note, 8 in n5t, 6 in son, 6 in f6r, o in do, o in wolf; u in tune, u in nflt, u in 
rude (=«>), u in full, ii= a sound midway between oo ami ee, ua = wa, ue = we ; y in my, y 
in hymn. Consonants: § in ^ent, machine, e in can, chasm ; g in gem, gin get; K = the 
guttural sound represented by ch in German words ; n= ng, N = ng in its effect (nasal) on the preced¬ 
ing vowel, but is itself silent ; §= z; th in thine. Italic letters are silent. 


Ad'ams, Mt. 25 
Ad-l-ron'dack Mts. 13, 43, 
53, 151 

Ag'as-si'z, Lake 135 
A-las'ka (a-) 6,22,182, 203' 
Al'ba-ny (al'-) 44, 184 
Al'be-marle Sd. 56 
Al'le-gfte-ny R. 38 
a-lu'ini-num 102 
An'der-son, Ind. 174 
an-go'ra goat 163 
an'i-mals 150 
An-nap'o-lis 81 
an'thra-cite 94 
Ap-pa-lach'i-an Highland 
11 

Mountains 13 
apples 143 

Ar'kan-sas (ar-) R. 36 
asbestos 110 
As-to'ri a 123, 157 
Atch-a-fd-lay'a Bay'ou 
(bi'oo) 38 

At-lan'ta 124, 169, 192, 
193," 197 

At-lan'tic Coast Plain 11, 
128, 184, 191 
Au-gds'ta, Ga. 47 
Bad Lands 20 
Ba'ker, Mt. 25 
Bal'tl-more 7, 81, 158, 190 
B&n'gdr 118, 123 
baux'ite (bo'zit) 102 
Ba-vonrae' 96 
Bel'ling-ham 157 
Bell'ows Falls (bel'oz) 118 
Berke'ley 81 
Big Sandy R. 191 
“bigtrees ”116 
Bi-15x'I 158 

Bir'ming-Tiam 100, 167, 

169, 192, 193 
Bitter Root Valley 143 
Black Hills 20 
blizzard 69 
Blue Ridge 166 
boll weevil 154 
Bonne'ville (bon'vil), Lake 
58 

borax 110 
Bos'ton 7, 41, 198 
Brock'ton 176 
Brownsville 41 
Bryn Mawr (brin mar') 82 


buckwheat 136 
Buf'fa-lo 96, 166, 109, 172, 
184, 190, 197 
building stone 106 
Bur'ling-ton, Vt. 123 
Cairo (ka'ro) 193 
calms (kamz) 65 
Cam'bridge 81 
Cam'den 174 
Can'a-da 5, 82 
Cape Cod 146 
Cape Cod Canal 185 
Carlisle (kar-lil') 79 
Carson Lake 59 
Cas-cade' Mts. 25 
Casco Bay 8 
Cats'kill Mts. 13, 44 
cattle 159 
ce-ment' 108 
Central America 5 
Central Hardwood Forest 
118 

cereals 131 

Cin-cin-na'ti 170, 174, 190, 
191, 192, 193 
ham-platn', Lake 53 
harles'ton 8, 192 
Chat-ta-noo'ga 81, 100, 

124, 169, 192 
chemicals 180 
Ches'a-peake Bay 7 
Chesapeake and Delaware 
Canal 185 
Ches'ter 173 
Cheyenne (shi-en') 162 
Chi-ca'go 8, 96, 123, 168, 
169, 170, 172, 184, 

190, 191, 193, 197 
Chicago Drainage Canal 
185 

citrus fruits 144 
clay 105, 174 

Cleveland 96, 169, 174, 
184, 190 
climate 61 

coal 90, 166, 181, 183, 184 
cold wave 66 
coastwise trade 181 
coffee 180 

Col-o-ra/do Plateaus (pla- 
toz') 29 
River 50 

Co-lum'bi-a Plateaus 29 
River 25, 48, 157, 185 

211 


commerce 177 
Con-nect'i-cut R. 42 
Con'nells-ville 94 
Continental divide 23 
copper 101, 177 
Cor'dil-le'ran Highland 11, 
21 

corn 132, 180 
cotton 137, 165, 177 
cranberry 145 
Cra'ter Lake 59 
crops 128 
cyclones 65 
cypress 120 
dairying 159, 181 
Dalles, The (dSlz) 48 
Death Valley 27 
Del'a-ware Bay 7, 45 
River 45 
W ater Gap 45 
Den'ver 24, 162, 194 
Des Moines' Rapids 32 
Des Plaines R. 185 
De-troit' 172, 175, 184 
River 55 
Devil Lake 59 
Dismal Swamp 56 
domestic animals 159 
domestic commerce 181 
Doug'las fir (dug'las) 115 
drumlin 18, 19 
dry farming 130 
Du-luth' 97, 123,168, 183, 
193 

Durham 168 
earthquake 22 
East Liv'er-pool 174 
East'port 157 
electric railroads 197 
El Pa'so 41 
E'rie 184 
Erie Canal 185 
Lake 55, 183 
Ev'er-glades 57 
exports 177 

Fall Line 13, 45, 46, 165, 
184 

Fall River 173 
farms 128 
fish 156 
flax 141 
floods 33, 39 
F15r'i-da 1, 9 
Keys 9 






212 INDEX AND PRONOUNCING VOCABULARY 


flour 172, 177 
forage, 136 
forests, 112, 168 
Fort Worth 162 
Gal'ves-ton 8, 138, 168, 
193, 195 
Ga'ry 169 
George, Lake 54 
Gila (he'la) R, 52 
gla'cial (gla'shal) drift 17 
glacial lakes 53 
gla'cier (gla'sher) 21 
glass 174 

Glens Falls 43, 118 
goats 163 
gold 102 
Golden Gate 9 
grain 131, 165, 181 
Grand Can'yon 29, 50 
Grand Kapids 168, 172 
Grand R. 50 
granite 107 
grapes 145 
grapefruit 144 
graphite 94 

Great American Desert 71 
Great Basin 27 
Great Central Plain 11, 16, 
128 

Great Falls 35, 100 
Great Lakes 54, 183, 187 
Great Plains 20, 129, 150 
Great Salt Lake 57, 108 
Great Valley of California 
49 

Green Mts. 53 
River 50 

Gulf Coast Plain 16, 112 
Gulf Stream 9 
Hamp'ton, Va. 77 
Harpers Ferry 46 
Hat'ter-as, Cape 9 
Ha/ver-ftill 176 
lla-wai'i 142 
Ha-wai'ian Is. 205 
hay 137 

health resorts 72 
Hel'e-na 100 
hickoryl 18 

Highlands of the Hudson 
43 

Hood, Mt. 25 
River, 143 
horses 162 
houses 79 
Hous'ton 124, 138 
Hud'son R. 42, 184, 190 
Hu'ron, Lake 55 
Hum'boldt Lake, 59 
River 52 
hurricane 70 
Ice Age 17, 53 


immigration 5, 75 
imports 177, 180 
Indians 77 

In-di-an-ap'o-Iis 170, 172 
insects 154 

iron 97, 165, 169, 177, 183 
irrigation 129 
I-tas'ca(i) Lake 30 
Ith'a-ca 81 

Jack'son-ville 147, 192 
Janies R. 47, 191 
Jameg'town 47 
Jef'fer-son, Mt. 25 
jetty 34 
Johns'town 94 
Jop'lin 100 
Juarez (hwa'ras) 41 
Ju-neau'(-no') 203 
Iva-na'wM R. 191 
Kansas City 96, 170, 193, 
194 

Ken-ne bee' R, 184 
Ke'o-kuk' 32 
Key We-f 9, 168 
Kla'mat/i Lakes 60 
Anox'ville 106, 169 
larch 117 
La-re'd5 41 
Law'rence 173 
lead 100 
Lead'v ill e 100 
leather 165 
lSv'ee 33 

limestone 108, 170 
Little Rock 124 
linseed oil 141 
livestock 159, 181 
lobsters 158 
Lock'port 166 
Long Island Sound 42, 158 
Los An'gel-es 10, 96, 194 
Lou'is-ville 39, 168, 191, 
193 

Low'ell 173 

lumber 165, 171, 181, 183 
lumbering 121 
Lynn 176 
mail 199 

Mammoth Grove 116 
Man'ches-ter 173 
Man-h&t'tan Is. 44 
manufacturing 165 
marble 106 
Mar'cy Mt. 16 
Mar'i-po'sa Grove 116 
market gardens 146 
Mas-sa-chu'setts Bay 7 
Mas'sive Mt. 24 
meat 170. 177 
Mem'phis 124, 138, 168, 
192 

Me-nom'i-nee 123 


mercury 102 
metals 97 
Mex'l-co 5, 82 
mica 110 
migration 155 
milk 160, 181 
millet 137 
milling 172 

Mil-wan 'kee 172, 184, 193 
minerals 90 

Min-n e-ap'o-lis 67, 123, 
168, 172, 193 
Mis-sis-slp'pi R. 30, 184 
Mis-sou'ri R. 35 
Mo-bile' 8, 124, 137, 192, 
193 

Mo-ha've Desert 71, 110 
Mo'hawk R. 45 
Mo-line' 168 
Mon-go'll-an 76 
Mo-non-ga-he'la R. 38 
Mont-gom'er-y 124, 168, 

192, 193 
M5nt-re-al' 41 
moraine 19 
Mount Vgr'non 46 
mule 162 
Mun'cie 174 
Nasli'viRe 124, 172, 193 
Natch 'ez 168 

natural gas 96 
naval stores 120 
navigable rivers 184 
Negroes 77 
New Bed'ford 173 
New England 13, 19, 113, 
160, 184, 187 
New'found-land 13 
New Hav'en~81 
New Or'le-an§ 8, 138, 168, 

193, 195 

New'port News 174, 191 
New York (city) 7, 81,176, 
190, 197 

Nl-ag'a ra Falls 55, 56, 102, 
166 

River 55, 166 

Nor'folk (-f a k) 8, 191, 192 

N6rth-amp'ton 82 

Northern forest 113, 116 

nurseries 149 

oak 118 

Oak'land 174 

oats 135 

O-hl'o Ii. 38, 184, 187 
O'ke-fe-no'kee Swamp 56 
olives 145 

On-ta'ri-o, Lake 56 
orchards 143 
Or'e-gon City 49 
ostrich 164 
oxbow 32 






INDEX AND PRONOUNCING VOCABULARY 213 


oysters 158 
O'zark Plateau 20 
Pa-cif'ic Coast Forest 115 
Pacific Ranges 21 
Pal-i-sade§ 43 
PaZm Beach 147 
palmetto 120 
P&n-a-ma' Canal 202, 207 
PaPkers-burg 96 
pastures 136 
P&t'er-son 167 
peaches 143 
peanuts 148 
pearls 158 
peat 90 

Pe-nob'scot R. 184 
Pen-sa-c5'la 124, 193 
Perth Am'boy 105 
pe-tro'le-um 94, 177 
Phil-a-del'phi-a 7, 81, 173, 
174, 175, 190, 197 
Phil'ip-pine Is. 204 
phos'phate 110 
Pied'mont Plateau 13 
Pikes Peak 24 
Pitts'burg/i 40, 94, 96, 98, 
160, 174, 175, 190, 197 
pop-u-la'tion 75, 86 
Port'land, Me. 8, 41, 67, 
187, 197 ; Ore. 49, 67, 
123, 185, 193, 194 
Portland cement 108 
Por'to Ri'co 142, 206 
Pdrts'mouth 8 
potato 148 
Po-to'mac R. 46, 191 
Potts'ville 94 

Powgr/i-keep'sle (kip') 44,82 
poultry 164 
Prai'rle Plains 19 
prevailing westerlies 65 
Prince'ton 81 
Prov'i-dence 174 
publishing 83, 175 
Pueblo (pweb'lo) 100 
PQ'get Sound 9, 27, 157, 
182, 193, 195 
Pyr'a mid Lake 59 
quarry 106 
Que bee 41 
ra/di-um 104 
Ra'lei gh 168, 192 
railroads 186 
rainfall 71, 72, 129 
Rai'nier, Mt. 25 
raisins 145 
raw materials 165 
recreations 84 
Red R. 37 ; (of the North) 
30, 134, 168 
redwood 116 
rice 136, 156 


Rich'mond 191, 192 
ki'o Griin'de 40 
roads 198 
Roch'es-ter 149 
Rocky Mts. 22, 151 
Rocky Mountain Forest 
114, 116 

Roosevelt Dam (ro'ze-velt) 
130 

Royal Gorge 37 
rubber 180 
Rutland 106 
rye 136 

Sac-ra-men'to R. 49 
St. An't/iO-ny, Falls of 32 
St. Au'gus-tine 147 
St. Cl Sir R. 55 
Lake 55 
St. Johns R- 47 
St. Jo'seph 170 
St. Law'rence R. 7, 41 
St. Lou'is 138, 167, 168, 
170, 175, 176, 184, 

190, 192, 193, 194 
St. Marys (mer'iz) li. 55 
St. Paul 185, 193 
salt 108 

Salt Lake City 100, 194 
Salt R. 130 
San An-to'ni-o 162 
sandstone 108 
San Di-e go 10, 123 
San Fran cis'co 10, 96,123, 
194 

Bay 9, 27 
Mountain 29 

San Joaquin (wa-ken') R. 
49, 59 

San Jos6' scale (ho-sa) 154 
Sa-van'nah 8, 124, 138, 192 
River 47 

S-ehe-nec'ta-dy 175 
schools 81 
Scran'ton 94 
seasons 63, 

Se-at'tle 10, 123, 174, 193 
194 
shad 167 
sheep 163 
shoes 176 

Si-er' ra Ne-va/da 25 
silk 167, 173, 180 
silver 104 
slate 107 

“ Soo ” Canal 185 
sorghum 137, 142 
South Bend 168 
Southern Forest 119 
Spo'kSne' 123 
Stan'ford 81 
Staked Plain 20 
| Standard time 195 


steel 97, 169, 177 
stock yards 170 
storms 69 

sugar 142, 176, 180 
maple 117 
sugar beets 142 
sugar cane 141 
sulphur 109 
Su-pe'ri-or 184 
Lake 55, 97, 170, 183 
surface 11 

Sus que han'na R. 46, 157 
swine 164 
Syr'a-cuse 166 
Ta-cO'ma 123 
Ta'hoe, Lake 59 
Tain'pa 8, 168, 192 
Tar'ry-town 43 
telegraph 199 
telephone 199 
textiles 172 

Tl-con'der-b'ga Creek 54 
To-le'do 169, 174, 184, 191 
t5r-na'do 70 
trade winds 65 
transatlantic lines 182 
transcontinental railroads, 
193 

transpacific lines 183 
Tren'ton 45, 167, 174 
Troy 43, 167, 184 
Tulare (too-lar') Lake 59 
turpentine 120 
Tus-ke'gee 77 
Vicks'burg, 124, 168, 172 
volcano, 22 
Walk'er Lake 59 
Wa'satch Mts. 57 _ 
Wash'ing-ton (city) 46, 
81, 190, 192 
water power, 166 
Wa'tertown 118 
weather 62 
Weather Bureau 72 
Wel'land Canal 56 
Wellesley (welz'li) 82 
West Point 81 
wheat 133, 177, 183 
Wheel'ing 174 
white pine 116 
Whit'ney, Mt. 25 
Wilkes-Barre (bar'i) 94 
Wil-la'meUe R. 49, 185 
Wil'ming-ton 175 
wood pulp 118 
wool 163, 165 
yellow pine 119 
Yel'low-stone River, 36 
Lake 59 
Park 23, 151 

Y5-sem'i-te Valley 26, 116 
zinc 102 











: 

















































APPENDIX 


REFERENCE MAPS 
AND 


TABLES 





WESTERN HEMISPHERE EASTERN HEMISPHERE 



X 


SOUTH POLE 





















































Area and Population of Grand Divisions and Countries 


SUMMARY 


Length of earth's axis (miles) 7,900 

Length of equator (miles) . 24,900 


E arth’s Surface (sq. mi 
Pacific Ocean (sq. mi.) . 
Atlantic Ocean (sq. mi.) 
Indian Ocean (sq. mi.) . 
Antarctic Ocean (sq. mi.) 
Arctic Ocean (sq. mi.) 

The Sea (sq. mi.) 


) 196,900,000 
. 71,000,000 

. 34,000,000 

. 28,000,000 
2,700,000 
4,000,000 
139,700,000 


Grand Divisions 


Square Miles Population 
North America 9,392,000 146,126,000 
South America 6,856,000 63,850,000 

Europe . . . 3,894,000 450,098,000 

Asia. 17,043,000 888,992,000 

Africa .... 11,514,000 136,272,000 
Australia, etc. . 3,457,000 8,758,000 

Antarctic Cont. 5,000,000 . 

The Land 57,156,000 1,694,096,000 


NORTH AMERICA 


United States . 

3,026,789 

105,711,000 

(States in Table, page xv) 


Alaska .... 

590,884 

55,000 

Dom. of Canada 

3,729,665 

8,788,000 

Nova Scotia 

21,428 

524,000 

N. Brunswick 

27,985 

388,000 

PrinceEdw. I. 

2,184 

89,000 

Quebec . . 

706,834 

2,361,000 

Ontaria . . 

407,262 

2,934,000 

Manitoba 

251,932 

610,000 

Saskatchewan 

251,700 

757,000 

Alberta . . 

255,285 

588,000 

Brit. Columbia 

355,855 

525,000 

Territories . 

1,449,300 

12,000 

Part Gt. Lakes 

30,540 


Newf’dland etc. 

49,680 

268,000 

St. Pierre, etc. . 

93 

5,000 

Greenland . . 

838,000 

14,000 

Mexico . . . 

767,300 

15,503,000 

Central America 

206,753 

5,813,000 

Guatemala 

43,640 

2,100,000 

Brit. Honduras 

8,600 

45,000 

Honduras . . 

44,276 

637,000 

Salvador . . 

8,170 

1,501,000 

Nicaragua . . 

49,550 

638,000 

Costa Rica 

18,690 

468,000 

Panama . . . 

33,300 

401,000 

Canal Zone 

527 

23,000 

West Indies . . 

91,400 

9,947,000 

Cuba .... 

44,000 

2,889,000 

Haiti, Rep. of 

11.070 

2,500,000 

Dominican Rep. 

18,750 

897,000 

Jamaica . . . 

4,840 

858,000 

Porto Rico 

3,435 

1,300,000 

Bahama Is. . 

4,400 

53,000 

Lesser Antilles 

4,905 

1,450,000 

Bermuda Is. 

19 

22,000 


SOUTH AMERICA 


Squa 

RE MlLEsP 

OPULATION 

Brazil .... 

3,300,000 

30,645,000 

Argentina . . 

1,084,000 

8,699,000 

Paraguay . . 

100,000 

1,050,000 

Uruguay . . . 

69,000 

1,495,000 

Chile .... 

293.000 

3,755,000 

Bolivia .... 

440,000 

2,890,000 

Peru. 

440,000 

4,586,000 

Ecuador . . . 

118,000 

2,000,000 

Colombia . . 

466,000 

5,855,000 

Venezuela . . 

364,000 

2,412,000 

Guiana, British 

95,000 

298,000 

Guiana, Dutch. 

50,000 

113,000 

Guiana, French 

30,500 

49,000 

Falkland Is., etc. 

6,570 

3,000 

EUROPE 


United Kingdom 

94,350 

44,168,000 

England . . 

50,850 

35,679,000 

Wales .... 

7,473 

2,207,000 

Scotland . . 

30,405 

4,882,000 

No. Ireland, etc. 

5,622 

1,400,000 

Irish Free Stata 

27,040 

3,140,000 

Germany . . . 

179,500 

50,857,000 

Belgium . . . 

11,760 

7,684,000 

Netherlands 

12,772 

6,841,000 

Denmark, etc. . 

17,125 

3,310,000 

Iceland . . . 

39,770 

95,000 

Norway . . . 

124,710 

2,646,000 

Sweden . . . 

172,928 

5,904,000 

Poland .... 

149,000 

27,442,000 

Danzig .... 

600 

365,000 

Lithuania . . 

25,500 

2,300,000 

Latvia .... 

24,000 

1,503,000 

Esthonia . . . 

18,500 

1,110,000 

Luxemburg . . 

999 

264,000 

Sarre Basin . . 

750 

658,000 

Andorra . . . 

175 

5,000 

France, etc. . . 

212,830 

39,233,000 

Spain .... 

192,000 

20,784,000 

Gibraltar . . . 

2 

25,000 

Portugal . . . 

34,264 

5,546,000 

Azores .... 

922 

243,000 

Switzerland . . 

15,956 

3,880,000 

Italy, etc. . . 

123,024 

40,082,000 

Fiume .... 

10 

50,000 

Malta, etc. . . 

124 

225,000 

Liechtenstein . 

61 

11,000 

Austria . . . 

30,700 

6,131,000 

Hungary . . . 

36,000 

7,841,000 

Czechoslovakia 

54,700 

13,596,000 

Yugoslavia . . 

95,000 

12,017,000 

Roumania . . 

116,000 

17.393,000 

Bulgaria . . . 

40,000 

4,910,000 

Albania . . . 

11,000 

832,000 

Greece .... 

42,000 

4,932,000 

Turkey in Eur. 

10,000 

1,800,000 

Russia in Eur. . 

1,816,500 

99,908,000 

Finland . . . 

130,000 

3,367,000 

Arctic islands . 

33,500 



xi 













l.L. POATES ENG. CO., N.Y. 


Xll. 




























Area and Population of Grand Divisions and Countries ( continued) 


ASIA 

Square Miles Population 


Turkey. . . . 

295,000 

10,000.000 

Syria. 

80,000 

3,000,000 

Iraq. 

140,000 

2,850,000 

Palestine . . . 

9,000 

757,000 

Cyprus . . . 

3,580 

311,000 

Sinai (Egypt) . 

22,800 

26,000 

Hedjaz . : . . 

140,000 

600,000 

Aden, etc. . . 

15,870 

177,000 

Oman .... 

75,000 

500,000 

Other Arabia . 

906,500 

2,000,000 

Persia .... 

635,000 

9,500,000 

Afghanistan 

240,900 

6,380,000 

Portug. India . 

1,400 

548,000 

Indian Empire. 

1,856,500 

319,075,000 

India proper . 

1,446,200 

305,069,000 

Burma . . . 

268,700 

13,206,000 

Baluchistan . . 

141,600 

800,000 

Nepal .... 

54,000 

5,600,000 

Bhutan . . . 

18,600 

250,000 

Ceylon, etc. . . 

25,500 

4,568,000 

Straits Settl’s, etc. 

35,600 

2,377,000 

Siam .... 

245,000 

8,266,000 

Fr. Ind.-Chin., etc. 256,500 

17,269,000 

East Indies . . 

788,000 

60,694,000 

Philippine Is.. 

115,000 

10,351,000 

Java .... 

51,000 

35,017,000 

Sumatra, etc.. 

185,000 

6,295,000 

Borneo . . . 

290,000 

2,459,000 

Other islands. 

147,000 

6,572,000 

China, etc. . . 

4,300,000 

320,880,000 

China proper. 

1,497,000 

302,340,000 

Tibet .... 

814,000 

2,000,000 

Sinkiang. . . 

550,000 

2,000,000 

Mongolia . . 

1,076,000 

1,800,000 

Manchuria. . 

363,000 

12,740,000 

Hongkong . . 

400 

625,000 

Weihaiwei . . 

280 

147,000 

Macao .... 

4 

75,000 

Japanese Empire 

261,300 

77,606,000 

Japan .... 

147,750 

55,961,000 

S. Sakhalin. .• 

14,700 

106,000 

Taiwan, etc. . 

13,400 

3,654,000 

Dairen, etc. . 

1,200 

601,000 

Chosen . . . 

84,250 

17,284,000 

Russia in Asia . 

6,721,500 

41,037,000 

Siberia . . . 

4,162,000 

9,349,000 

Far Eastern Rep 

. 645,000 

1,812,000 

Turkestan . . 

570,000 

7,202,000 

Kirghiz . . . 

780,000 

4,546,000 


Lake Aral and 


Caspian Sea. 
Khiva.... 
Bokhara. . . 
Armenia. . . 

Georgia . . 
Azerbaijan 
Russia proper, etc. 
Arctic Islands . 


195,600 

23.200 

79.200 
15,000 
26,000 
34,000 
91,500 
14,900 


519,000 

3,000,000 

1,214,000 

2,372,000 

2,097,000 

2,800,000 


AFRICA 

Square Miles P 


Egypt 

\ 

7 ) -a 

+3 eg 

400,000 

Libia 

£ 5 

542,000 

Tunis 


64,600 

Algeria 


343,600 

Morocco 

O Q 

154,570 


Sp. Morocco . 21,200 

Tangier (Int.) . 230 

Sahara, part of. 1,944,000 

Rio de Oro, etc. 82,100 

Fr. West Africa 704,000 

Gambia . . . 3,700 

Port. Guinea . 13,100 

Sierra Leone . 26,900 

Liberia .... 36,800 

Gold Coast, etc. 88,800 

Nigeria. . . . 394,000 

Anglo-Eg. Sud. 1,014,400 

Abyssinia. . . 312,000 

Eritrea .... 42,500 

Fr. Somali . . 6,000 

Brit. Somali. . 59,800 

Ital. Somali . . 190,000 

Uganda Prot. . 111,000 

Kenya .... 247,000 

Zanzibar . . . 1,000 

Tanganyika Ter. 384,200 
Belgian Congo. 947,200 
Fr. Equ’tor’l Af. 840,600 
Angola, etc. . . 490,800 

Mozambique . 295,800 

Union of S. Af.. 792,340 

C.ofGd. Hope 277,000 

Natal .... 34,710 

Or. Free State 48,340 

Transvaal . . 114,290 

S. W. Africa . 318,000 

Rhodesia . . . 408,500 

Other Br. S. Af. 313,900 

Madagascar. . 228,600 

Other islands . 8,730 


O PUL ATI ON 

13,387,000 

525,000 

2,094,000 

5,801,000 

5,000,000 

600,000 

60,000 

695,000 

224,000 

12,284.000 

248,000 

289,000 

1,403,000 

1,500,000 

2,430,000 

17,300,000 

3,400,000 

8,000,000 

450,000 

208,000 

300,000 

700,000 

3,072,000 

2,630,000 

197,000 

4,000,000 

15,400,000 

11,500,000 

4,120,000 

3,120,000 

6,926,000 

2,781,000 

1,194,000 

628,000 

2,086,000 

237,000 

1,735,000 

1,989,000 

3,545,000 

1,800,000 


AUSTRALIA, ETC. 


Com. of Austr. 

2,972,866 

5,437,000 

Victoria . . . 

87,884 

1,532,000 

New S. Wales 

310,660 

2,100,000 

Queensland . 

668,497 

758,000 

South Austr. . 

380,070 

495,000 

Western Austr. 

975,920 

332,000 

Tasmania . . 

26,215 

214,000 

Northern Ter. 

523,620 

4,000 

New Zealand . 

104,663 

1,221,000 

New Guinea, etc. 

329,190 

1,183,000 

Solomon Is. . . 

16,950 

200,000 

New Caledonia 

7,650 

51,000 

New Hebrides. 

5,100 

60,000 

Fiji Islands . . 

8,050 

140,000 

Samoa Islands. 

1,076 

45,000 

Hawaiian Is. . 

6,449 

256,000 

Other Pacific Is. 

5,385 

160,000 


xiii 













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The United States 


State 


Alabama 
Arizona . 
Arkansas 
California 
Colorado 
Connecticut 
Delaware 
Dist. of Columbia 
Florida 
Georgia 
Idaho 
Illinois 
Indiana 
Iowa . 

Kansas 
Kentucky 
Louisiana 
Maine 
Maryland 
Massachusetts 
Michigan 
Minnesota 
Mississippi 
Missouri 
Montana 
Nebraska 
Nevada . 

New Hampshire 
New Jersey 
New Mexico 
New York . 
North Carolina 
North Dakota 
Ohio . 

Oklahoma . 
Oregon . 
Pennsylvania 
Rhode Island 
South Carolina 
South Dakota 
Tennessee . 
Texas 

Utah . . . 

Vermont 
Virginia . . 

Washington. 

West Virginia 
Wisconsin . 
Wyoming . 

Part of Gt. Lakes 


Area in 
Sq, Miles 

51,998 
113,956 
53,335 
158,297 
103,948 
4,965 
2,370 
70 
58,666 
59,265 
83,888 
56,665 
36,354 
56,147 
82,158 
40,598 
48,506 
33,040 
12,327 
8,266 
57,980 
84,682 
46,865 
69,420 
146,997 
77,520 
110,690 
9,341 
8,224 
122,634 
49,204 
52,426 
70,837 
41,040 
70,057 
96,699 

45.126 
1,248 

30.989 
77,615 
42,022 

265,896 

84.990 
9,564 

42,627 

69.127 
24,170 
56,066 
97,914 
61,730 


Pop. 1920 

2,348,174 

334,162 

1,752,204 

3,426,861 

939,629 

1,380,631 

223,003 

437,571 

968,470 

2,895,832 

431,866 

6,485,280 

2,930,390 

2,404,021 

1,769,257 

2,416,630 

1,798,509 

768,014 

1,449,661 

3,852,356 

3,668,412 

2,387,125 

1,790,618 

3,404,055 

548,889 

1,296,372 

77,407 

443,083 

3,155,900 

360,350 

10,385,227 

2,559,123 

646,872 

5,759,394 

2,028,283 

783,389 

8,720,017 

604,397 

1,683,724 

636,547 

2,337,885 

4,663,228 

449,396 

352,428 

2,309,187 

1,356,621 

1,463,701 

2,632,067 

194,402 


Capital 


Montgomery 

Phoenix 

Little Rock 

Sacramento 

Denver 

Hartford 

Dover 

Tallahassee 

Atlanta 

Boise 

Springfield 

Indianapolis 

Des Moines 

Topeka 

Frankfort 

Baton Rouge 

Augusta 

Annapolis 

Boston 

Lansing 

St. Paul 

J ackson 

Jefferson City 

Helena 

Lincoln 

Carson City 

Concord 

Trenton 

Santa Fe 

Albany 

Raleigh 

Bismarck 

Columbus 

Oklahoma City 

Salem 

Harrisburg 

Providence 

Columbia 

Pierre 

N ashville 

Austin 

Salt Lake City 

Montpelier 

Richmond 

Olympia 

Charleston 

Madison 

Cheyenne 


Main Body 3,088,519 105,710,620 


Outlying Territory, Etc. 


Alaska (’10) 

590,884 

55,036 

Juneau 

Guam. . . . 

210 

13,275 

Agana 

Hawaii . 

6,449 

255,912 

Honolulu 

Philippines (’18) 

115,026 

10,350,640 

Manila 

Porto Rico . 

3,435 

1,299,809 

San Juan 

Pan. Canal Zone 

527 

22,858 


Samoan Is., etc. 

77 

8,056 


Virgin Is., of the 
U. S. (’17) . 

132 

26,051 


Soldiers and Sailors 
stationed abroad . 

117,238 



Total Outlying 716,740 
Grand Total . 3,805,259 


12,148,875 

117,859,495 

xv 


Largest Cities of the 
United States 

Population, 1920 
New York, N.Y. 5,620,048 
Chicago, Ill. . . 2,701,705 

Philadelphia, Pa. 1,823,779 
Detroit, Mich. . 993,678 

Cleveland, Ohio . 796,841 

St. Louis, Mo. . 772,897 

Boston, Mass. . 748,060 

Baltimore, Md. . 733,826 

Pittsburgh, Pa. . 588,343 

Los Angeles, Cal. 576,673 
Buffalo, N. Y. . 506,775 

San Francisco, Cal. 506,676 
Milwaukee, Wis. 457,147 
Washington, D.C. 437,571 
Newark, N. J. . 414,524 

Cincinnati, Ohio. 401,247 
New Orleans, La. 387,219 
Minneapolis, 

Minn. . . . 380,582 

Kansas City, Mo. 324,410 
Seattle, Wash. . 315,312 

Indianapolis, Ind. 314,194 
Jersey City, N.J. 298,103 
Rochester, N. Y. 295,750 
Portland, Ore. . 258,288 

Denver, Colo. . 256,491 

Toledo, Ohio. . 243,164 

Providence, R. I. 237,595 
Columbus, Ohio. 237,031 
Louisville, Ky. . 234,891 

St. Paul, Minn. 234,698 
Oakland, Cal. . 216,261 

Akron, Ohio . . 208,435 

Atlanta, Ga. . . 200,616 

Omaha, Nebr. . 191,601 

Worcester, Mass. 179,754 
Birmingham, Ala. 178,806 
Syracuse, N.Y. . 171,717 

Richmond, Va. . 171,667 

New Haven, Conn. 162,537 
Memphis, Tenn. 162,351 
San Antonio, Tex. 161,379 
Dallas, Tex. . . 158,976 

Dayton, Ohio . 152,559 

Bridgeport, Conn. 143,555 
Houston, Tex. . 138,276 

Hartford, Conn. 138,036 
Scranton, Pa. . 137,783 

Grand Rapids, 

Mich. . . . 137,634 

Paterson, N. J. . 135,875 

Youngstown, Ohio 132,358 
Springfield, Mass. 129,614 
Des Moines, Iowa 126,468 
New Bedford, 

Mass. . . . 121,217 

Fall River, Mass. 120,485 
Trenton, N. J. . 119,289 

Nashville, Tenn. 118,342 
Salt Lake City, 

Utah . . . 118,110 

Camden, N. J. . 116,309 

Norfolk, Va. . . 115,777 

Albany. N. Y. . 113.344 

Lowell, Mass. . 112,759 

Wilmington, Del. 110,168 
Cambridge, Mass. 109,694 
Reading, Pa. . ■ 10J.784 

Fort Worth, Tex. 106.482 
Spokane, Wash. . 104,437 

Kansas City, Kan. 101,177 
Yonkers, N. Y. , 100,176 








XVI 



















































Population of Cities in North America and South America 


NORTH AMERICA 


Canada (1921) 


Montreal . . 

. 619,000 

Toronto . . . 

. 522,000 

Winnipeg . . 

. 179,000 

Vancouver 

. 117,000 

Hamilton . . 

. 114,000 

Ottawa . . . 

. 108,000 

Quebec . . . 

95,000 

Calgary . . . 

. 63,000 

Edmontcn . . 

59,000 

Halifax . . . 

. 58,000 

London . . . 

54,000 

St. John . . . 

47,000 

Victoria . . . 

39,000 

Regina . . . 

. 34,000 

Newfoundland (1921) 

St. Johns . . 

. 37,000 

CENTRAL AMERICA 

British Honduras (1921) 

Belize . . . 

13,000 

Costa Rica 

(1920) 

San Jose . . 

39,000 

Guatemala 

(1921) 

Guatemala 

90,000 

Quezaltenango 

. 35,000 

Coban . . . 

31,000 

Honduras 

(1920) 

Tegucigalpa . 

. 39,000 

Nicaragua (1920) 

Leon .... 

. 38,000 

Managua . . 

28,000 

Granada . . 

17,000 

Panama (1920) 

Panama . . . 

67,000 

Colon .... 

31,000 


Salvador (1920) 

San Salvador. . 80,000 
Santa Ana . . . 70,000 


Mexico (1921) 
Mexico (’19) . 1,080,000 

Guadalajara . . 119,000 

Puebla .... 96,000 

Monterey . . . 74,000 

San Luis Potosi . 68,000 


Merida .... 

62,000 

Leon. 

58,000 

Vera Cruz . . . 

49,000 

AguasCalienles. 

45,000 

Morelia .... 

40,000 

Pachuca . . . 

39,000 

Saltillo .... 

35,000 

Durango . . . 

32,000 


United States 
(See Table, page xv.) 


West Indies 

Havana, Cuba . 364,000 

Camaguey, Cuba 98,000 
Cienfuegos, Cuba 95,000 
Santiago de 

Cuba, Cuba . 70,000 

Port au Prince, 


Haiti .... 120,000 

Santo Domingo, 


Dom. Rep. 

45,000 

Kingston, 


Jamaica . . . 

62,000 

San Juan, Porto 


Rico . . . . 

71,000 

Ponce, Porto 


Rico . . . . 

42,000 

Fort de France, 


Martinique . 

26,000 

Bridgetown, 


Barbados . . 

13,000 

St. Thomas, 


Virgin Islands 

8,000 

SOUTH AMERICA 

Argentina (1922) 

Buenos Aires . 

1,720,000 

Rosario . . . . 

265.000 

La Plata . . . 

151,000 

Cordoba . . . 

135,000 

Tucuman . . . 

91,000 

Santa Fe . . . 

59,000 

Mendoza . . . 

59,000 

Bahia Blanca 

44,000 

Brazil (1920) 

Rio de Janeiro 

1,158,000 

Sao Paulo . . . 

579,000 

Bahia. 

283,000 

Pernambuco 


(Recife) . . . 

239,000 

Para (Belem) . 

236,000 

Porto Alegre . . 

179,000 

Nictheroy . . . 

86,000 

Manaos .... 

76,000 


xvii 


Bolivia 

(1918) 

La Paz . . . 

. 107,000 

Cochabamba 

31,000 

Potosi . . . 

30,000 

Sucre . . . . 

30,000 

Santa Cruz 

26,000 

Chile (1920) 

Santiago. . . 

. 507,000 

Valparaiso . . 

. 182,000 

Concepcion . 

. 66,000 

Antofagasta . 

51,000 

Iquique . . . 

. 37,000 

Talca . . . . 

36,000 

Chilian . . . 

30.CC0 

Colombia 

(1918) 

Bogota . . . 

. 144.000 

Medellin . . 

. 79,000 

Barranquilla . 

. 65,000 

Cartagena . . 

51,000 

Cali. 

. 45,000 

Manizales . . 

. 43,000 

Cucuta . . . 

. 29,000 

Bucaramanga 

. 25,000 


Ecuador (1919) 
Guayaquil . . . 100,000 

Quito. 81,000 


Guiana 

Georgetown, British 

Guiana (1911) 53,000 

Paramaribo, Dutch 

Guiana (1920) 51,000 

Cayenne, French 

Guiana (1918) 10,000 


Paraguay (1920) 
Asuncion . . . 100,000 


Peru 

Lima . . . 
Callao. . . 
Arequipa . 
Ayacucho . 
Iquitos . . 


(1919) 

. . 175,000 

. . 53,000 

. . 35,000 

. . 14,000 

. . 12,000 


Uruguay (1922) 
Montevideo . . 351,000 


Venezuela (1920) 

Caracas .... 92,000 

Maracaibo . . 47,000 

Valencia . , , 29,000 

























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Population of Cities in Europe 


Albania 

(1914) 

Scutari . . 

32,000 

Austria 

(1920) 

Vienna . . . 

. 1,842,000 

Gratz . . . 

157,000 

Linz .... 

94,000 

Innsbruck . 

56,000 

Belgium 

(1921) 

Brussels . . 

. 775,000 

Antwerp . . 

304,000 

Liege . . . 

165,000 

Bulgaria 

(1920) 

Sofia . . . 

154,000 

CzECHOSLOVA 

KIA (1921) 

Prague . . . 

676,000 

Brun. . . . 

221,000 

Danzig 

(1921) 

Danzig . . 

195,000 

Denmark 

(1921) 

Copenhagen 

561,000 

Esthonia 

(1922) 

Reval . . . 

123,000 

Finland 

(1920) 

Helsingfors . 

198,000 

Fiume 

Fiume . . . 

50,000 

France 

(1921) 

Paris . . . 

. 2,906,000 

Marseille . . 

586,000 

Lyon . . . 

562,000 

Bordeaux 

. 267,000 

Lille .... 

201,000 

Nantes . . . 

184,000 

Toulouse . . 

175,000 

St. Etienne . 

168,000 

Strasbourg . 

167,000 

Havre . . . 

163,000 

Nice .... 

156,000 

Rouen . . . 

124,000 

Roubaix . . 

113,000 

Nancy . . . 

113,000 

Toulon . . . 

106,000 

Mul house 

99,000 

Reims . . . 

77,000 

Germany 

(1919) 

Berlin . . . 

. 3,801,000 

Hamburg 

. 986,000 

Cologne . 

634,000 

Munich 

. 631,000 

Leipzig . . 

604,000 

Dresden . . 

529,000 

Breslau . . 

528,000 

Essen . . . 

439,000 

Frankfurt-am- 


Main . . 

. 433,000 


Germany 

(< continued) 

Dusseldorf . 

. 407,000 

Nuremberg . 

. 352,000 

Charlottenbu 

rg 322,000 

Hanover . . 

. 310,000 

Stuttgart . . 

309,000 

Chemnitz 

. 303,000 

Dortmund . 

. 295,000 

Magdeburg . 

285,000 

Konigsberg . 

260,000 

Bremen . . 

. 257,000 

Duisburg . . 

244,000 

Stettin . . . 

232,000 

Kiel . . . . 

. 205,000 

Greece 

(1920) 

Athens. . . 

301,000 

Salonica . . 

170,000 

Piraeus . . 

133,000 

Hungary (1921) 

Budapest . . 

. 1,184,000 

Szeged . . . 

110,000 

Italy 

(1921) 

Naples . . 

780,000 

Milan . . . 

. 718,000 

Rome . . . 

691,000 

Turin . . . 

. 502.000 

Palermo . . 

. 400,000 

Genoa . . . 

. 301,000 

Catania . . 

. 255,000 

Florence . . 

. 254,000 

Yugoslavia (1919) 

Belgrade . . 

120,000 

Latvia 

(1920) 

Riga .... 

185,000 

Lithuania (1914) 

Vilna . . . 

215,000 

Luxemburg (1921) 

Luxemburg . 

46,000 

Netherlands (1920) 

Amsterdam . 

642,000 

Rotterdam . 

605,000 

Hague . . . 

360,000 

Norway 

(1920) 

Christiania . 

. 258,000 

Poland 

(1921) 

Warsaw . . 

. 931,000 

Lodz . . . 

452,000 

Lemberg . . 

219,000 

Krakow . . 

182,000 

Portugal (1920) 

Lisbon . . . 

490,000 

Oporto . . . 

204,000 


Roumania (1917) 


Bucharest . . 

309,000 

Russia (1920) 

Moscow . . . 

1,050,000 

Petrograd 


(estimated) . 

706,000 

Odessa .... 

435,000 

Kief. 

366,000 

Kharkof . . • . 

284,000 

Saratof . . . 

235,000 

Nizhni Novgorod 

112,000 

Spain (1920) 

Madrid . . . 

751,000 

Barcelona . . 

710,000 

Valencia . . . 

244,000 

Seville .... 

206,000 

Sweden (1922) 

Stockholm . . 

422,000 

Goteborg . . . 

227,000 

Switzerland 

(1920) 

Zurich .... 

207,000 

Basel .... 

136,000 

Geneva . . . 

135,000 

Bern ..... 

105,000 

Lucerne . . . 

44,000 

Turkey 

Constantinople 

1,000,000 

United Kingdom (1921) 

England 

London . . . 

7,476.000 

Birmingham . 

919,000 

Liverpool . . 

803,000 

Manchester . . 

731,000 

Sheffield . . . 

491,000 

Leeds .... 

458,000 

Bristol .... 

377,000 

West Ham . . 

301,000 

Hull. 

287,000 

Bradford . . . 

286,000 

Newcastle . . 

275,000 

Nottingham 

263,000 

Portsmouth 

247,000 

Stoke-on-Trent 

240,000 

Leicester . . . 

234,000 

Salford .... 

234,000 

Scotland (1921) 

Glasgow . . . 

1,034,000 

Edinburgh . . 

420,000 

Dundee . . . 

185,000 

Aberdeen . . . 

159,000 

Ireland 

Dublin .... 

399,000 

Belfast .... 

393,000 

Wales 


Cardiff .... 

200,000 


xix 



























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Population of Cities in Asia, Africa, and Australia 


ASIA 

Afghanistan 


Kabul .... 

150,000 

Kandahar . . 

31,000 

Herat .... 

20,000 

Arabia 

Mekka, Hedjaz 

70,000 

Aden, Aden . . 

55,000 

Jidda, Hedjaz . 

20,000 

Maskat, Oman. 

20,000 

China (proper), (1921) 

Shanghai . . . 

1,500,000 

Hankow . . . 

1,468,000 

Singan .... 

1,000,000 

Peking .... 

924,000 

Canton.... 

900,000 

Hangchow . . 

892,000 

Tientsin . . . 

800,000 

Ningpo. . . . 

628,000 

Foochow . . . 

624,000 

Changsha . . 

536,000 

Soochow . . . 

500,000 


Manchuria 

Mukden . . . 158,000 

Mongolia 

Urga .... 38,000 

Tibet 

Lassa .... 20,000 

Chinese Turkestan 
(Sinkiang) 

Kashgar . . . 60,000 

Yarkand . . . 60,000 


French Indo-China (’21) 
Cholon, Cochin- 


China . . . 

94,000 

Saigon, Cochin- 

China . . . 

82,000 

Pnum-Penh, 


Cambodia . 

75,000 

Hanoi, Tonkin. 

74,000 

Binh-Dinh, 

Anam . . . 

74,000 

Hue, Anam . . 

60,000 


Hongkong 

Victoria (’21) . 360,000 

India (1921) 


Calcutta . . 

1,328,000 

Bombay . . 

1,175,000 

Madras . .. 

527,000 

Haidarabad 

404,000 

Rangoon . . 

342,000 

Delhi . . . 

304,000 

Lahore . . . 

282,000 

Ahmedabad 

274,000 

Lucknow . . 

240,000 

Bangalore . 

237,000 


India ( continued ) 

Karachi . . . 217,000 

Cawnpur . . 216,000 

Benares . . . 198,000 

Agra .... 185,000 

Mandalay . . 149,000 


AFRICA 

Abyssinia 

Adis Abeda . . 40,000 

Algeria (1921) 
Algiers .... 207,000 

Oran .... 141,000 


Japan (1920) 


Tokyo . . 
Osaka . . 
Kobe . . 
Kyoto . . 
Nagoya . 
Yokohama 
Seoul . . 
Nagasaki . 
Pingyang . 

Iraq 

Mosul . . 
Bagdad 


. . 2,173,000 

. . 1,252,000 

. . 608,000 

. . 591,000 

. . 429,000 

. . 422,000 

. . 250,000 

. . 176,000 

. . 72,000 

(1920) 

. . 350,000 

. . 250,000 


Anglo-Egyptian Sudan 
Khartum (’12) . 23,000 

Egypt (1917) 

Cairo .... 791,000 
Alexandria . . 445,000 
Port Said . . 91,000 

Kenya (1921) 
Mombasa. . . 40,000 

Liberia 

Monrovia. . . 6,000 

Libia (1911) 
Tripoli .... 73,000 

Bengazi . . . 35,000 


Palestine (1919) 

Jerusalem . . 

64,000 

Jaffa. 

47,000 

Persia 

Teheran . . . 

220,000 

Tabriz .... 

200,000 

Ispahan . . . 

80,000 

Kerman . . . 

80,000 

Philippines (1918) 

Manila .... 

283,000 

Iloilo. 

48,000 

Cebu .... 

46,000 

Russia in Asia 

Tiflis (’15) . . 

347,000 

Tashkent (’13). 

272,000 

Baku (’20) . . 

250,000 

Omsk (’20) . . 

144,000 

Kokand (’ll) . 

118,000 

Irkutsk (’20) . 

104,000 

Tomsk (’20). . 

90,000 

Bokhara (T9) . 

75,000 

Vladivostok (’20) 

61,000 

Sia.m (1920) 

Bangkok . . . 

630,000 

Straits Settlements 

Singapore (T9) 

387,000 

Syria 

Damascus . . 

250,000 

Aleppo .... 

250,000 

Beirut .... 

180,000 

Turkey 

Smyrna . . . 

375,000 

Brusa .... 

110,000 

Erzerum . , . 

90,000 

Sivas .... 

65,000 

Trebizond . . 

55,000 

Kaisariye . . 

54,000 


xxi 


Madagascar (1921) 
Tananarivo . . 63,000 

Morocco (1921) 
Morocco . . . 140,000 

Fez. 70,000 

Tangier . . . 50,000 

Rabat .... 31,000 

Sierra Leone (1921) 
Freetown . . . 44,000 

Tunis (1921) 

Tunis .... 172,000 

Union of So. Africa (‘21) 
Johannesburg . 288,000 

Cape Town . . 207,000 

Durban . . . 146,000 

Pretoria . . . 94,000 

Kimberley . . 40.000 

Bloenfontein . 39,000 

Zanzibar 

Zanzibar . . . 35,000 


AUSTRALIA AND 
EAST INDIES 

Australia (1921) 
Sydney. . . . 898,000 

Melbourne . . 784,000 

Adelaide . . . 255,000 

Brisbane . . . 210,000 

Perth .... 155,000 

Ballarat . . . 39,000 

New Zealand (1921) 
Auckland . . 158,000 

Wellington . . 107,000 

Christchurch . 106,000 

Dunedin . . . 72,000 

Dutch East Indies 
Bata via,Java(’17) 235,000 




















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_ SCALE OF MILES 

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XXII 





























































General Tables 


Distances, etc. 


Miles 

Distance, Earth to Sun . . 93,000,000 

Distance, Earth to Moon . 240,000 

Diameter of Earth, Polar . 7^900 

Diameter of Earth, Equatorial 7,926 
Degree of Latitude, about . 69 

Circumference at the Equator 24,900 


South America ( continued ) 

Feet 


Mt. Illimani, Bolivia. 

Mt. Chimborazo, Ecuador 
Mt. Misti, Peru 
Mt. Cotopaxi, Ecuador . 
Mt. Tolima, Colombia . 
Mt. Icutu, Venezuela. 

Mt. Itatiaia, Brazil . . 


21,030 

20,517 

20,320 

19,613 

18,300 

11,000 

9,840 


Heights of Mountains, Plateaus 
and Peaks 

North America 

Rocky Mts. 

Sierra Nevada. 

Cascade Mts. 

Sierra Madre. 

Coast Ranges. 

Appalachian Nits. 

Mexican Plateau .... 

Mt. McKinley, Alaska . 

Nit. Logan, Canada . 

Mt. Orizaba, Mexico. 

Mt. St. Elias, Alaska 
Mt. Popocatepetl, Mexico . 

Mt. Whitney, Cal., Sierra 

Nevada . 

Mt. Shasta, Cal., Cascade Mts 
Pikes Peak, Col., Rocky Mts 
Mt. Mitchell, N. C., 

Appalachians. 


Europe 


Alps Mts., Switzerland . . . 8,500 

Pyrenees Mts., Spain . . . 8,000 

Ural Mts., Russia.3,500 

Kiolen, Norway.3,000 

Mt. Blanc, France.15,780 

Mt. Etna, Sicily.10,865 

Mt. Hekla, Iceland . . . . 5,110 

Mt. Vesuvius, Italy .... 4,260 

Asia 

Himalaya Mts.19,000 

Karakoram Mts., Tibet. . . 18,500 

Tien Shan, Turkestan . . . 18,000 

Kuenlun, Tibet.18,000 

Caucasus Mts.10,000 

Pamir Plateau.16,000 

Tibet Plateau.15,000 

Mt. Everest, Nepal .... 29,002 

Mt. Elburz, Caucasus . . . 18,493 

Mt. Ararat, Armenia . . . 17,325 

Mt. Fujiyama, Japan . . . 12,395 


Feet 

10,000 

9,000 

9,000 

8.500 
3,000 

2.500 

7.500 
20,464 
19,539 
18,314 
18,010 
17,784 

14,502 

14,380 

14,111 

6,711 


South America 


Africa 


Andes Mts. 

Bolivian Plateau . 

Mt. Aconcagua, Argentina 
Mt. Sahama. Bolivia . 

Mt. Sorata, Bolivia . 


13,000 

12,500 

23,860 

22,350 

21,286 


Atlas Mts., Morocco .... 9,000 

Abyssinian Plateau .... 6,500 

Mt. Kilimanjaro, East Africa . 19,780 

Mt. Kenya, East Africa . . 19,000 

Mt. Stanley.16,800 


Lengths of Great Rivers 


Areas of Great Lakes 


North America 


Missouri- 

Miles 

Mississippi, 

4,200 

Missouri . 

2,900 

Mississippi 

2,600 

St. Lawrence. 

2,100 

Mackenzie. 

2,100 

Arkansas . 

2,000 

Yukon .... 

2,000 

Colorado . 

2,000 

Nelson- 


Saskatchewan 

1,900 

Rio Grande . 

1,800 

Columbia . 

1,300 

Ohio .... 

1,000 

Fraser .... 

750 


South America 


Amazon 

3,500 

Parana-Plata 

2,600 

Sao Francisco 

1,800 

Orinoco. 

1,500 

Magdalena 

1,100 

Australia 

Darling . . . 

1,100 

Murray 

1,100 


Europe 


Volga . . . . 

Danube 

Dnieper 

Dwina . . . . 

Don . . . . 

Rhine . . . . 

Asia 

Yangtze . . . 

Ob. 

Yenisei 
Hwang 
Lena . 

Amur . . . . 

Mekong 

Indus . . . . 

Euphrates 

Brahmaputra 

Ganges 

Irrawaddy 

Africa 

Nile . . . . 

Niger . 

Congo . 

Zambezi 

Orange 


Miles 

2.300 
1,800 

1.300 
1,003 
1,000 

800 


3,100 

3,000 

3,000 

2,800 

2,800 

2,800 

2,600 

2,000 

2,000 

1,800 

1,500 

1,500 


North America 


Superior . 

Sq. Miles 
. 31,000 

Huron . 


24,000 

Michigan . 


22,500 

Great Bear 


14,000 

Erie .... 


10,000 

Winnipeg . 


9,000 

Ontario 


7,250 

Nicaragua 


3,000 

Great Salt 


2,300 

South America 

Titicaca 

• 

3,250 

Europe 

Ladoga 

7,000 

Asia 

Caspian . . 


169,000 

Aral 


26,000 

Baikal . . . 


13,000 

Balkash 


8,500 

Dead Sea . 


350 


3.900 

2.900 
2,800 
1,600 
1,200 


Africa 

Victoria . . . 32,000 

Nyasa .... 14,000 

Tanganyika . . 14,000 

Chad .... 10,000 


XXlll 













































XXIV 


































































































LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 










































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































